U.S. offers $1M for information leading to Usama bin Laden's son
The U.S. is offering a reward of up to $1 million for information about the son of the late al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.
Hamza Bin Laden, who is believed to be about 30 years old, is emerging as a key leader of the Islamist militant group, the State Department announced on Thursday. In recent years, he has released audio and video messages calling on followers to attack the U.S. and its Western allies in revenge for his father's killing in 2011.
"We do believe he"s probably in the Afghan-Pakistan border, and probably could go into Iran... But he could be anywhere," Michael Evanoff, assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, said at the Washington Foreign Press Center, while laying out the new international efforts aimed at weakening al-Qaida leadership, TURAN's correspondent reports.
"Today"s al-Qaida is not stagnant. It"s rebuilding... And it continues to threaten the United States and our allies," added Ambassador-at-Large Nathan Sales, U.S. coordinator for counter terrorism: "In recent years, the world"s attention understandably has been focused on the ISIS threat. Al-Qaida, during this period, has been relatively quiet, but that is a strategic pause, not a surrender. Make no mistake, al-Qaida retains both the capability and the intent to hit us. "
The move comes at a time when many jihadists are expected to return to Europe and other regions, as the U.S. ends its military presence in Syria.
In response to TURAN's question whether policymakers differ risks posed from the potential ISIS jihadists abroad, and Al Qaeda itself, and how U.S. counterterrorism policy can be best positioned to address both threats, Sales said, "we adopt tools that are threat agnostic and that can used against the full spectrum of threats. The tools that we use to deny resources to al-Qaida can also be used to cut off the flow of money to ISIS. The tools that we use to prevent Hizballah operatives from traveling internationally can also be used to prevent ISIS foreign fighters from traveling internationally," he added.
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
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- Politics
- 1 March 2019 10:44
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- 1 March 2019 11:08
Politics
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Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan made an unexpected statement during a government session, emphasizing the need for a strategic deal with Azerbaijan. According to him, the future peaceful coexistence of the two countries must be guaranteed for the next century, and addressing this issue is the most crucial and fundamental task for both sides.
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A new draft agreement on financing climate programs, unveiled at the 29th session of the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP29), proposes allocating at least $1.3 trillion (€1.23 trillion) annually for climate protection measures and adaptation to the impact of climate change, according to a 34-page document released on Wednesday. The draft, developed with input from developing nations, aims to address the needs of the world's poorest countries, though several contentious issues remain unresolved, AFP reported.
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On November 13, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Afghan Taliban held talks in Baku as part of the COP29 conference. According to a report by Turan correspondent, the discussions took place behind closed doors and lasted for over an hour. No statements were made to the press following the meeting. Furthermore, conference security prevented journalists from asking questions to the meeting participants.
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Kichikhanim Khalilova, the wife of arrested public activist and first-group disabled person, Famil Khalilov, reported being followed during her time at the COP29 conference on November 13. She had been accredited in the "Green Zone" as a civil rights activist. From the moment she entered the conference area, a young man began to follow her.
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