Osama bin Laden has threatened revenge against
the United States for assassinating his father,
according to an audio message posted online.
Hamza bin Laden promised to continue the global
militant group's fight against the United States and
its allies in the 21-minute speech entitled "We Are
All Osama," according to the SITE Intelligence
Group.
"We will continue striking you and targeting you in
your country and abroad in response to your
oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan,
Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the
Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression,"
Hamza said.
"As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh
Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not
revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for
those who defended Islam."
Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout
by U.S. commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the
militant group which carried out the Sept. 11, 2001
attacks.
Documents recovered from bin Laden's compound
and published by the United States last year alleged
that his aides tried to reunite the militant leader with
Hamza, who had been held under house arrest in
Iran. [nL1N0YB29N]
Hamza, now in his mid-twenties, was at his father's
side in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks and
spent time with him in Pakistan after the U.S.-led
invasion pushed much of al Qaeda's senior
leadership there, according to the Brookings
Institution.
Introduced by the organisation's new chief Ayman
al-Zawahiri in an audio message last year, Hamza
provides a younger voice for the group whose ageing
leaders have struggled to inspire militants around
the world galvanized by Islamic State.
"Hamza provides a new face for al Qaeda, one that
directly connects to the group's founder. He is an
articulate and dangerous enemy," according to
Bruce Riedel of Brookings.
Edited by: Judes Okoye.
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