A transatlantic intelligence consortium monitoring al Qaeda movements has released video footage it claims shows Hamza bin Laden inside Afghanistan, raising fresh questions about the presence of senior militant figures in the country and the Taliban’s counterterrorism assurances. The consortium said the footage was recorded several months ago and that all digital identifiers were deliberately removed to prevent geolocation or exposure of the source.
The Taliban have not yet commented on the claim. Kabul has repeatedly rejected allegations of harbouring al Qaeda operatives, insisting that no foreign militant networks are active on Afghan soil. The emergence of the new footage, however, has revived an international debate that has persisted since the U.S. military withdrawal.
In the released video, Hamza bin Laden appears in an outdoor setting with what seems to be an urban background. While the consortium did not disclose the suspected location, it stated that the imagery aligns with intelligence assessments suggesting he may have relocated to Afghanistan after years of public absence. Western intelligence analysts say the timing of the release may be intended to signal that al Qaeda’s senior leadership remains operational despite prolonged counterterrorism pressure.
The development comes more than two years after al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul’s Sherpur district in August 2022, an event that intensified scrutiny of the Taliban’s claimed break with al Qaeda. International monitoring agencies have since reported that al Qaeda maintains an active presence across multiple Afghan provinces. United Nations Security Council reports have previously identified training camps in Parwan, Ghazni, Laghman and Uruzgan, noting continued linkages with allied militant factions.
Speculation around Hamza bin Laden’s location has persisted for years. A paper published by the Paris Geopolitics Academy earlier suggested he may be operating from Panjshir, though that assertion remains unverified and was approached cautiously by intelligence experts. The newly released footage, if authenticated, could lend weight to the hypothesis that he has reemerged somewhere within Afghanistan’s complex and often inaccessible terrain.
Security analysts say verifying the footage may take time due to the removal of metadata and the difficulty of confirming geographic markers. Nonetheless, they warn that even the possibility of Hamza bin Laden’s presence in Afghanistan risks further straining the Taliban’s efforts to secure international legitimacy. It may also prompt renewed global concern that the country could again serve as a safe haven for transnational jihadist networks.
Intelligence officials caution that the video alone does not resolve longstanding questions about al Qaeda’s operational capacity, internal hierarchy or relationship with the Taliban. However, they agree that if the footage is proven genuine, it will likely intensify international scrutiny of Afghanistan’s counterterrorism commitments and reinvigorate calls for enhanced multilateral oversight of regional security dynamics.
