U.S. offers $1 million bounty in hunt for bin Laden's son
Eight years after a Navy SEAL team shot and killed Osama bin Laden, the U.S. government is offering $1 million for help tracking down the son of the Sept. 11 mastermind. The State Department announced Thursday it would give out the reward for help locating Hamza bin Laden.
"He has released audio and video messages on the Internet, calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies, and he has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by U.S. military forces," the State Department said.
WANTED. Up to $1 million for information on Hamza bin Laden, an emerging al-Qa'ida leader. Hamza is son of Usama bin Laden and has threatened attacks against the United States and allies. Relocation possible. Submit a tip, get paid. https://t.co/LtBVhsrwTc #RFJ pic.twitter.com/gmx5hkoSzQ
— Rewards for Justice (@Rewards4Justice) February 28, 2019
In 2017, the State Department added Hamza bin Laden to its Specially Designated Global Terrorist list after he was "determined to have committed, or pose a serious risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security."
The U.S. also said that Hamza bin Laden married the daughter of Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker in the 9/11 attacks. This fact was initially reported by Guardian journalist Martin Chulov, who interviewed Osama bin Laden's family last summer.
"So what [the family] would say is that 9/11 alumni remains very viable and very real even 17 years after the fact," Chulov told CBSN in August.
Chulov said that while there has been speculation that Hamza bin Laden is in Pakistan, he believes it is more likely that he is in Afghanistan.