No matter which part of the world you go to, the bin Laden name is enough to send ominous chills down the spine. When it comes to some of the most notorious terrorists in modern history, Osama bin Laden sits at the top of the list. Osama, the mastermind of the horrific 9/11 attacks, left behind more than just a bloodstained legacy, but also a broken family scattered across continents and entangled in secrecy, still hoping to reinvent themselves and not let the bin Laden name define their identity anymore.
Osama bin Laden, the former leader of al-Qaeda and one of the world’s most wanted terrorists, was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs on May 1, 2011, during a raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. While the terrorist leader’s death closed one notorious chapter of the infamous Islamist militant group’s tale, it also opened another: What happened to the women and children who shared his last moments? Where are the wives who watched him die, and the family that was bestowed a never-ending saga of exile and stigma?
The women in Osama’s Abbottabad compound
On the night of May 1, 2011, three of Osama bin Laden’s wives, Amal Ahmed al-Sadah (Amal Abdulfattah), Khairiah Sabar, and Siham Sabar, were present in the Abbottabad compound with him. During the raid that struck the compound at 1:00 a.m., Osama’s youngest wife and a Yemeni national, Amal Abdulfattah, was shot and wounded by U.S. forces. The young woman had insisted on staying by her husband’s side, even when Osama commanded the family to go downstairs. Her son, Hussein, sat next to her as his father was gunned down in front of them.
In the aftermath of the raid, Osama’s other two wives, Khairiah Sabar and Siham Sabar, along with their 11 children, were detained by Pakistani authorities, held under house arrest in a ‘sub-jail’. It was nearly a year later, in April 2012, that the whole family was deported to Saudi Arabia. During their transfer to the bus for deportation, authorities used sheets of clothing as cover to prevent cameras from capturing their faces.
Their story, along with the chilling hunt for Osama bin Laden, is explored in Netflix’s much-anticipated documentary, American Manhunt: The Search for Osama Bin Laden. Featuring rare archival footage and gripping interviews with CIA insiders, the documentary gives viewers a spine-tingling look at how the world’s most wanted terrorist was finally tracked down.
What happened to Osama’s children, and what about the prodigal son?
Through his four marriages, Osama bin Laden reportedly fathered between 20 to 26 children. His first wife, Najwa Ghanem, whom he married in 1974, bore several of his children, including Abdallah bin Laden, Omar bin Laden, Saad bin Laden, and Mohammed bin Laden. Others were born to his subsequent wives.
Among all of his children, Hamzah bin Laden was seen as the heir who would take over al-Qaeda’s leadership after Osama. According to reports, Hamzah was with his mother, Khairiah, when she joined Osama in Pakistan shortly before the Abbottabad raid. He was able to escape that night and would later rise through the ranks of al-Qaeda. Hamzah was later killed in a U.S. counterterrorism operation, reportedly between 2017 and 2019.
The other son who became a popular face was Omar bin Laden, who describes himself as the black sheep of the terrorist family. Omar, a son of Osama’s first wife, Najwa Ghanem, a.k.a Umm Abdallah, was once groomed by his father for Jihad. However, he ultimately rejected violence against humanity and fled the camps of Afghanistan as a teenager.
Despite everything, controversy continues to follow him to this day. All these years, Omar has tried to bury the legacy of his infamous father, pursuing a career as an artist and author. He married Jane Felix-Browne, a 51-year-old British grandmother from Cheshire, England, in 2006. Even though Omar has expressed a desire to promote peace, he has found himself in the middle of controversies in recent years due to his social media activity.
In October 2024, French authorities expelled Omar from the country, barring his return, after a tweet was posted from his profile that seemed to glorify terrorism. Omar denied writing the tweet, claiming it was posted by a confidant with his password. After his expulsion, he reportedly moved to Qatar and now resides there. His paintings still sell worldwide, and he has become a minor celebrity in art circles.
When Osama bin Laden’s mother spoke about her son
Osama’s mother, Alia Ghanem, lives in a mansion in Jeddah, surrounded by the reminders of the son who grew up to be humanity’s worst nightmare. In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, Alia spoke fondly of her son, claiming that he used to be a bright boy who was ‘brainwashed’ by radicals. She was quoted as saying:
“He was a very good kid, and he loved me so much… He met some people who pretty much brainwashed him in his early 20s. You can call it a cult…Everyone who met him in the early days respected him. At the start, we were very proud of him. Even the Saudi government would treat him in a very noble, respectful way. And then came Osama the mujahid.”
Osama’s wives, family, and the empire
Osama’s first wife and cousin, Najwa Ghanem, fled Afghanistan just before 9/11, taking only her two youngest children with her. Later, she co-authored the memoir, Growing Up bin Laden, with her son, Omar, describing the chilling account of her life inside the family. Najwa now reportedly spends her time switching between Qatar and Syria, laying low from the media.
Not much is known about Osama’s other wives and children. However, some of his extended family members have made identities for themselves in vastly different fields. One such name is Osama’s niece, Noor bin Ladin, who altered the spelling of her infamous surname, and has become a media personality, known for her vocal support of Donald Trump, appearances on Steve Bannon’s podcast, and flag-waving protests in Geneva. Noor’s sister, Wafah Dufour, is a model, singer, and socialite who once posed provocatively for GQ and pursued a career as a pop artist in the US.
Even though Osama was exiled from the bin Laden dynasty in 1994, the family’s enterprise, the Saudi Binladin Group, remained deeply connected to Saudi Arabia’s economy. In 2013, Osama’s half-brothers, Bakr and Shafiq bin Laden, donated 1 million euros to King Charles’ charitable fund. Another relative, Mohammed Saleh bin Laden, is now investing millions in British horse racing.
More than a decade after his death, Osama bin Laden’s family, scattered across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and the Gulf, continues to adapt, diversify, and strive to survive. Despite achieving success in various fields, they cannot fully escape the dark shadow their last name casts in the terrible chapters of modern history!
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