Hamza bin Laden in 2001, the last time he was photographed in public Getty ImagesA son of Osama bin Laden who is regarded as the most likely next leader of al-Qaeda has called for a new jihad to save Syria from outright control by the Assad regime. A voice recording released overnight on jihadist social media accounts is purported to be that of Hamza bin Laden, who is about 28 years old, urging Sunni Muslims to fight crusaders, Shia and “international aggression”. An al-Qaeda branch, formerly known as the Nusra Front but now calling itself Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Group for the Liberation of the Levant), now largely controls Idlib province in northwest Syria, after fighting and defeating other rebel forces. It is currently part of a “de-escalation zone” negotiated by Russia, Iran and Turkey but there are repeated rumours…

Source: The Times September 15, 2017 11:03 UTC