US legitimises Osama bin Laden's son as heir after placing $1m bounty on his head
The move by the US serves as a reminder that al Qaeda remains a threat, despite focus shifting to Islamic State in recent years.
Friday 1 March 2019 17:18, UK
Releasing a most wanted poster and offering a million dollar reward for Hamza bin Laden is quite a move by the US.
It puts a target on the al Qaeda militant's head, legitimises his position as his father's heir and brings a previously little-known terrorist to global prominence.
It is hard to assess whether al Qaeda internally rates Hamza bin Laden as highly as the US seems to - or whether he's little more than a figure-head with an infamous surname.
Although he is the designated successor of his father Osama, Hamza is a 30-year-old millennial trying to make his name in an organisation that traditionally values elder members.
His younger approach will either help reinvent al Qaeda for the modern age or be rebuffed from within by more senior figures.
He has vowed to avenge his father's death and is known to be a loose cannon - if he has the support, that could be dangerous.
This news also reminds us of the threat still posed by al Qaeda.
Whilst media and military attention has focused on destroying Islamic State, al Qaeda has quietly rebuilt and reassembled itself out of the spotlight.
It has a close nexus with the Taliban in Afghanistan and a presence across Asia.
Under the leadership of Ayman al Zawahiri, the organisation has struggled to get the prominence it enjoyed under Osama bin Laden, but the destruction of Islamic State's caliphate in Syria and Iraq presents an opportunity.
Unlike IS, al Qaeda never sought to develop a caliphate as a priority, preferring instead to win over local populations and build from the bottom up.
But its ideology, a hatred of America and its allies, has never wavered. That remains, and so does the threat.