Saudi Arabia announced Friday it has revoked the citizenship of Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza bin Laden, a day after the State Department announced a $1 million reward for information leading to his location.
A notice was published Friday in Saudi Arabia’s official gazette that Hamza bin Laden’s citizenship was revoked by royal decree in November, according to The Associated Press.
The notice did not explain why the news was made public now, but it comes a day after the State Department announced it will pay up to $1 million for information on him through its Rewards for Justice Program.
In announcing the reward, the State Department described Hamza bin Laden as “emerging as a leader” of al Qaeda.
“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,” the announcement said.
Also Thursday, the United Nations Security Council added Hamza bin Laden to its sanctions list, meaning he is subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban.
The U.N. announcement said Hamza bin Laden is seen as “the most probable successor” to Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over as the leader of al Qaeda after U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden.
The United States first designated Hamza bin Laden as a specially designated global terrorist in January 2017, freezing any assets he has in the country.
The State Department says Hamza bin Laden was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 1989, though it lists an alternate date of birth as 1986. He is married to the daughter of lead 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta, according to the department.
Letters seized during the U.S. military raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, “indicate that he was grooming Hamza to replace him as leader” of al Qaeda, according to the department.