The family of Osama bin Laden fear his son is intent on 'avenging his father's death' and have pleaded with him not to follow in the terror mastermind's footsteps
The family of Osama bin Laden fear his son is intent on "avenging his father's death" and have pleaded with him not to follow in the terror mastermind's footsteps.
Bin Laden was shot dead by a US Navy Seal team in Pakistan in 2011 and his son, Hamza last year called for revenge terror attacks on the US.
The 29-year-old, who jihadis have hailed as the "heir" to the leadership of terror group al-Qaeda, is believed to have travelled to Afghanistan, reports Daily Mail.
In an interview, his family, who live in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, urged Hamza not to follow the same path as his father, who approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the New York in 2001 which killed 2,977 people.
One of his uncles, Hassan, told the Guardian: "We thought everyone was over this. Then the next thing I knew, Hamza was saying, 'I am going to avenge my father.' I don't want to go through that again.
"If Hamza was in front of me now, I would tell him, 'God guide you. Think twice about what you are doing. Don't retake the steps of your father. You are entering horrible parts of your soul'."
In November, Osama bin Laden's 'favourite' son called on Muslims around the world to launch terror attacks on the US for killing his father.
In an audio message, Hamza bin Laden, believed to be around 28, urged Muslims to 'to take revenge on the Americans, the murderers of the Shaykh [Osama bin Laden], specifically on those who participated in this heinous crime.'
It came just days after Hamza's wedding video was released, showing the 'Crown Prince of Terror' as an adult for the first time.
This was released by the CIA as part of a trove of material recovered during the May 2011 raid that killed the terror group leader at his compound in Pakistan.
Until then, the public had only seen childhood photos of Hamza, which have been used as propaganda tools by al Qaeda. It's believed the militants have not released pictures of him as an adult for his own safety.
In recent years, he has emerged as the heir to his father's throne and become a prominent member of the terrorist organization.
Hamza (pictured), who jihadis have hailed as the 'heir' to the leadership of al-Qaeda, last year called on Muslims around the world to launch terror attacks on the US. Photo / AP
Dubbed the 'Crown Prince of Terror', he has purportedly called for terrorist attacks on London, Washington and Paris in an audio message released by Al Qaeda.
In January of this year, he was officially designated a terrorist by the United States.
The U.S. State Department added him, to its list of global terrorists after confirming he had followed in his father's footsteps to join al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda senior leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a tape in August 2015, claiming that Hamza had joined the group. In the audio message, Hamza himself spoke and called for lone wolf attacks.
But speaking at their home in Jeddah, the bin Laden family begged him not to emulate his father.
In the same interview, Osama bin Laden's mother broke her 17-year silence to insist the fanatic turned to terror after being "brainwashed by a cult".
Alia Ghanem said the al-Qaeda boss was a 'very good kid' but became radicalised at the King Abdulaziz University in his 20s.
Ghanem, now in her 70s, revealed Osama became a "different man" and that it never crossed her mind her "shy" and "pious" son would go on to become a jihadist.
In an interview with Martin Chulov for the Guardian, Ghanem and her family - still influential in Saudi society - spoke at length about Osama.
Ghanem lives in a wealthy area of Jeddah in a mansion including a spiral staircase at leading to a number of "cavernous rooms", according to the report. Framed pictures of the extremist are dotted around her living room - one of them showing the bearded fanatic smiling in a military outfit.
Ghanem insisted her first-born son had been a deeply religious individual who "changed" at university.
"He was a very good child until he met some people who pretty much brainwashed him in his early 20s. You can call it a cult. They got money for their cause. I would always tell him to stay away from them, and he would never admit to me what he was doing, because he loved me so much."
It was at university that he met a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Abdullah Azzam, who went on to become his spiritual adviser, the Guardian reports.
Ghanem said her son had spent all his money "sneaking off" to Afghanistan under the guise of family business but that the family was left "extremely upset" on realising he had in fact become a jihadist.
Bin Laden approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the New York in 2001 which killed 2,977 people. Photo / Getty Images
Osama's half-brothers waited until their mother was out of the room to reveal she remains in denial about the terror lord and 'refuses to blame him' - instead pointing at "those around him".
They said they were "shocked and stunned" when news of the World Trade Centre atrocity emerged and knew within two days that Osama's al-Qaeda was behind the attack.
One of his half brothers, Ahmad, told the Guardian that "from the youngest to the eldest" the family "felt ashamed" of Osama and that their mother still "only knows the good boy side".
They revealed that they last saw Osama in Afghanistan in 1999, seeing him twice at his headquarters near the airport in Kandahar.
Two of bin Laden's wives now live nearby in Jeddah along with their children, they said. Ghanem said that she speaks "to his harem most weeks".
For many years, the bin Laden family said they were banned from travelling by the Saudi government who also questioned the extremist's relatives. However, they are now free to travel outside the kingdom.
Bin Laden approved the devastating 9/11 terror attacks on the New York in 2001 which killed 2,977 people. He ran the al-Qaeda jihadist network until he was tracked down to a compound in Pakistan and shot dead by US special forces in 2011.
The terror mastermind was with his youngest wife, Amal bin Laden, and their children on the night his hideaway was raided by American SEALs.
The operation took just minutes and the military forces left with bin Laden's body.
