(Bloomberg) -- The White House has confirmed that Hamza bin Laden, son of late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is dead. He was killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, President Donald Trump said in a statement on Saturday without providing further details.
The elder Bin Laden used a family inheritance to build the global terrorist network that killed almost 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001. His son, believed to be between 28 and 30, was responsible for planning and dealing with various terrorist groups, Trump said.
The New York Times reported in late July that Hamza bin Laden had been killed some time during the first two years of the Trump administration, citing U.S. officials.
The U.S. military often takes weeks or months before confirming the death of a person of interest.
Trump's move to announce the death now comes as he's seeking to show progress in fighting terrorists in the region, after breaking off negotiations with the Taliban in Afghanistan a week ago.
“The loss of Hamza bin Laden not only deprives al-Qaeda of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities of the group,” Trump said in the statement.
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To contact the reporter on this story: Hailey Waller in New York at hwaller@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Steve Geimann
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