The State Department said Thursday that one of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden’s sons has been placed on a terror watch list, noting that he has threatened terror attacks against the US.
The department said that on August 14, 2015, Hamza bin Laden was officially announced by al Qaeda senior leader Ayman al-Zawahiri as a member of the terror organization.
That same year, in an audio message released by al-Zawahiri, Hamza bin Laden called for “lone offender attacks against US, French, and Israeli interests in Washington, D.C.; Paris, France; and Tel Aviv, Israel.”
In July 2016, al Qaeda issued another audio message from Hamza bin Laden threatening revenge against the United States and warned Americans they would be targeted in the United States and abroad.
The State Department said he “is actively engaged in terrorism” and “as a result of this designation, all property subject to US jurisdiction in which Hamza bin Laden has any interest is blocked and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him.”
Hamza bin Laden was named as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” which “imposes sanctions on foreign persons 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, foreign policy, or economy of the United States,” according to a release from the State Department.