The son and the potential successor of the former terrorist number one Osama bin Laden – Hamza – is dead, US media reports citing three unnamed US officials "familiar with the situation".
The officials claim Washington obtained the information from intelligence sources.
They did not elaborate on whether the United States played a role in his death or where and when it occurred.
There has not as yet been any official confirmation from Washington.
In the meantime, Twitterians have started commenting on the news:
U.S. HAS INTEL BIN LADEN SON AND HEIR HAMZA IS DEAD: NBC
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 31, 2019
#BREAKING: Osama bin Laden son and heir Hamza bin Laden is dead - @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/LMhvBlwm3I
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) July 31, 2019
Hamza bin Laden is believed to have made his last public appearance in 2018.
Hamza bin Laden, who has called on al-Qaeda followers to attack the United States for killing his father, was regarded as the likely successor to the organization’s chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The US State Department had offered a reward of $1 million for information on the whereabouts of Hamza bin Laden.
Osama bin Laden was killed on 2 May 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan during a US Navy SEAL special operation following a 10-year manhunt. The manhunt was initiated in part as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States that killed some 3,000 people.
