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Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza marries daughter of 9/11 hijacker

The marriage was confirmed by Osama bin Laden’s half-brothers Ahmad and Hassan al-Attas

Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza marries daughter of 9/11 hijacker

An undated file handout picture obtained on October 2, 2001 from the office of the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York shows Saudi-born millionaire Osama Bin Laden (C), Ayman Al-Zawahiri (L), a physician and the founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and Muhammad Atef (R), who has been indicted in the US for his alleged involvement in the 1998 bombings of US Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. (Photo: AFP)

Hamza bin Laden, the son of the late Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has married the daughter of Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker and one of the ringleaders of the September 2001 terror attacks in the US, according to the family.

The marriage was confirmed by Osama bin Laden’s half-brothers — Ahmad and Hassan al-Attas — during an interview with the Guardian.

“We have heard he has married the daughter of Mohammed Atta,” Ahmad al-Attas told the daily. “We’re not sure where he is, but it could be Afghanistan.”

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The brothers said they believed Hamza had taken a senior position within Al Qaida and was aiming to avenge the death of his father who was shot dead during a US military raid in Pakistan’s Abbottabad town on May 2, 2011.

Hamza is the son of one of Osama bin Laden’s three surviving wives, Khairiah Sabar, who was living with her husband in Abbottabad when he was killed.

He has since made public statements urging followers to wage war on the US, the UK, France and Israel and is seen as a deputy to the terrorist group’s incumbent leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Western intelligence agencies have been increasingly focusing on Hamza’s whereabouts over the past two years.

Another of Bin Laden’s sons, Khalid, was killed in the Abbottabad raid. A third, Saad, was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan in 2009.

Letters purportedly written by Osama bin Laden and seized from the compound suggested he was grooming Hamza bin Laden to replace him.

The late militant leader’s wives and surviving children have returned to Saudi Arabia, where they were given refuge by the former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.

The women and children remain in close contact with Osama bin Laden’s mother, Alia Ghanem, who told the Guardian in a recent interview that she remained in regular touch with surviving family members.

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