Internet, 13: A new Al Qaeda video featuring Hamza binLaden has raised questions over reports that he was killed in 2019.
Al Qaeda’s media wing, As Sahab, released the propaganda video around the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The video is titled “A Quarter Century of the 11 September Raids.”
Hamza appears several times in the footage. He is shown speaking while seated against a cracked wall, with a rifle placed beside him.
However, the footage does not independently establish when it was recorded. It therefore does not confirm that Hamza is currently alive.
Hamza Bin Laden Video Revives 2019 Death Mystery
US officials had reported that Hamza was killed in a counterterrorism operation near the Afghanistan Pakistan border in 2019. The US government did not publicly provide detailed confirmation of the operation.
Al Qaeda also never publicly acknowledged Hamza’s death or issued the customary funeral statement associated with the deaths of senior leaders, according to reports.
The latest Hamza bin Laden video has therefore renewed speculation about his fate. Unconfirmed reports in previous years had also claimed that he remained alive and held a senior position within Al Qaeda.
The nearly 50 minute video also contains previously unseen images of former Al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri. He was killed in a US drone strike in Kabul in 2022.
Security analysts said the video appears designed to promote Al Qaeda’s ideology and use the Bin Laden family name for recruitment. The footage also includes archival material linked to the 2014 Karachi naval dockyard attack.
Hamza was regarded as a potential successor to his father, Osama bin Laden. The US had announced a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture in 2019.
The latest footage has consequently revived the long-standing mystery surrounding his reported death. But without independent verification of the recording’s date and authenticity, Hamza bin Laden’s current status remains unconfirmed.
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