UNSC bans Osama Bin Laden’s son Hamza bin Laden, ‘most probable successor’ of Al-Qaeda
The UN Security Council has banned Hamza bin Laden, the son of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, under its sanctions list, subjecting him to a travel ban, assets freeze and an arms embargo. The UNSC described Bin Laden’s son as the “most probable successor” of the group’s current leader Aiman al-Zawahiri.
The UN Security Council’s 1267 ISIS and Al Qaida Sanctions Committee on Thursday listed 29-year old Hamza bin Laden, hours after the US announced a reward of up to one million dollars for information about him.
Also, on Friday, Saudi Arabia also announced Friday it had revoked the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden via a royal decree in November. In a press release, UN Security Council said al-Zawahiri has announced that the Saudi Arabia-born Hamza bin Laden is an official member of Al Qaida. Hamza bin Laden “has called for followers of Al-Qaida to commit terror attacks. Is seen as the most probable successor of al-Zawahiri,” the powerful 15-member Council said.
Under the Sanctions Committee arms embargo, all states freeze without delay the funds and other financial assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities.
"Since at least August 2015, 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. service members," the State Department said.
In January 2017, the State Department had listed Hamza bin Laden as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, freezing all of his assets based in the United States.
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First published: 2 March 2019, 11:47 IST