The son of notorious terrorist Osama bin Laden has reportedly died.
Hamza bin Laden, who was destined to take over al-Qaeda from his father, was described as a "terrorist rock star" hellbent on recapturing the organisation's position as the world’s most dangerous extremists.
Hamza had a $1 million bound placed on his capture by America in February, with U.S. intelligence officials tonight revealing his death.
It is not yet clear where the 30-year-old died, or if the U.S. played any role in his death - which is yet to be confirmed, as the Mirror reports.
Much like Osama bin Laden, Hamza was was rarely seen.
America previously made a mistake in claiming that Hamza - known as the “Crown Prince of Jihad” - died at the hands of U.S troops alongside his father in May 2011.
They later discovered he had escaped the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan where his warlord father was hiding out.
While in hiding he had made several public statements urging his followers to wage war on London, Washington, Paris and Tel Aviv all while rising to become leader Ayman al Zawahiri's deputy.
In February, America launched a global hunt for the young warlord with his location the subject of speculation with reports of him in Pakistan, Afghanistan or under house arrest in Iran.
In a statement at the time, the U.S. State Department told the Mirror: “The Justice Program is offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the identification or location in any country of al-Qaeda (AQ) key leader Hamza bin Laden.
“Hamza bin Laden is the son of deceased former AQ leader Usama bin Laden and is emerging as a leader in the AQ franchise.
“Since at least August 2015, he has released audio and video messages on the Internet calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies, and he has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by U.S. service members.”
In November 2001, Hamza was first seen in jihadist propaganda when he appeared in a video uploaded to an al-Qaeda-affiliated website.
In the footage, the young terrorist reads a poem praising the one-eyed Afghan mujahideen commander Mullah Omar and explores the wreckage of a plane alongside Taliban militants and his three older brothers.
Four years later, he appeared in a video in which he fought against Pakistani soldiers.
In 2008, Hamza appeared in another with his father.
In it, they called on disaffected teenagers - singling out those from troubled families or who were mentally impaired - to form localised jihadist cells and “accelerate the destruction” of countries that opposed their views.
However, his most chilling appearances come not from in front of the camera but behind the microphone.
None more so than in 2017 just two weeks before the Manchester bombing, when channelling his father’s voice he made calls for attacks on European and North American cities to avenge the deaths of Syrian children killed in airstrikes.
