US Slaps Sanctions on bin Laden Son

'Hamza bin Laden is actively engaged in terrorism'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 6, 2017 12:03 AM CST
US Slaps Sanctions on bin Laden Son
A young boy, left, identified as Hamza bin Laden, holds what the Taliban said was a piece of US helicopter wreckage in Ghazni, Afghanistan on Monday, Nov. 5, 2001.   (Uncredited)

The Obama administration imposed sanctions on a son of Osama bin Laden on Thursday, saying the younger bin Laden poses a risk to US national security. The State Department said Hamza bin Laden was added 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 US nationals or the national security." Hamza bin Laden was officially named an al-Qaeda member in 2014 by his father's successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The State Department says the younger bin Laden, in a 2015 audio message, called for acts of terrorism in Western capitals. In an audio message last year, he threatened revenge against the US and warned Americans they would be targeted at home and abroad.

Hamza bin Laden, who is believed to be around 25 years old, also has called for lone wolf, or solo-operative, attacks against US, French, and Israeli interests in Washington, Paris, and Tel Aviv, the AP reports. "Hamza bin Laden is actively engaged in terrorism," the State Department said, adding that terrorism designations deny individuals access to the US financial system and "can assist or complement the law enforcement actions of other US agencies and other governments." The State Department also announced penalties against Ibrahim al-Banna, a senior member of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He served as that group's security chief and provided military and security guidance to its leadership. (More Hamza bin Laden stories.)

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