The files found in Abbottabad clearly reveal various photographs and videos that depict the children and wives of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, enduring great trauma and hardship over two decades of life.
It is clear from these videos and photos that one of the wealthiest and most famous households turned into a shelter, seeking refuge in poorly clad caves, mountains, and deserts, leaving behind their grandchildren and children who have now become fugitives.
Even the wives of Bin Laden gave up wearing traditional black abayas in favor of Afghan chadris and burqas in the Arabian Peninsula. They also dress their Afghan children in traditional clothes. The second generation of the bin Laden family does not speak Arabic, as they ended up picking different dialects and languages mainly Pashto and Urdu, spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The grandchildren of Bin Laden have acquired Arab Gulf characteristics, whereas some possess blonde hair and blue eyes. The distinction they demonstrate in the appearances and attributes showcased in the videos is another significant aspect to consider.
In-law with the Egyptian leaders of extremist groups
Saad, the son of Osama, married the daughter of his father’s friend in Sudan, while Hamza, the third son, married the daughter of Zayat al-Muhammad or ‘al-Masri Muhammad Abu. Othman married Safia, the daughter of al-Adl Saif’s second wife. Muhammad, the son of Osama, was married to the daughter of ‘Atef’ Muhammad or al-Masri Hafs Abu. Osama bin Laden found a novel way to strengthen ties within his “international” organization by forming matrimonial alliances with leaders of extremist Egyptian groups, particularly with his colleagues.
Bin Laden’s daughters married to men from the Gulf
The documents do not indicate whether his daughters Mariam, Sumaya, and Iman resided with the bin Laden family in Iran prior to seeking refuge at the Saudi embassy, regardless of whether they were married or not. Meanwhile, Khadija, another one of his daughters, was married to Abdullah al-Halabi from Al Madina El Monawara when she was just 11-years-old. In 1999, during his time in Kandahar, Osama’s daughter Fatima, at the age of 12, wedded Suleiman Bughith from Kuwait. It appears that when it comes to the daughters of bin Laden, whether they marry a Saudi or any other Gulf national, the leader of al-Qaeda adhered to Gulf customs and traditions.
In 2011, Khalid was unable to enter into matrimony until his ultimate demise in Abbottabad and had to reside with his father, Abu Abd al-Rahman, a close associate of Bin Laden, due to security concerns. He opted for Bin Laden’s daughter in 2009, who shared several pictures of potential suitors after being tasked by Osama bin Laden’s eldest daughter, Khadija, to find a suitable spouse for Khalid. Khalid had expressed his desire for his future wife to possess qualities such as beauty, good manners, and virginity, and he resided in Waziristan until her passing in 2009. The records indicate that Khalid faced obstacles in getting married following the September 11 incident.
Bin Laden’s associates’ spouses, along with additional recordings featuring mature females, are expected to be discovered in Bin Laden’s records, elucidating the presence of multiple images of young females.
The misery of women
The misery from the videos of the wives of al-Qaeda fighters is evident. They lived a tough life and were deprived of even the most basic necessities of life. They played an important role in providing for the needs of the leaders of Al-Qaeda. Besides preparing food and drinks for the men, they also gave birth to their heirs. They lived in crowded and dilapidated houses with their children, without even the modern amenities like water, electricity, or refrigerators.
The children or grandchildren faced various forms of difficulties. Within his place of concealment, a few fortunate individuals remained alongside Bin Laden, while others were dispersed across different regions of Waziristan and Iran. At a young age, some of them lost their parents, while others were unable to endure the challenging circumstances and fell victim to malaria and typhoid fever.
The schooling of these children was lacking. They found refuge in their living quarters. In addition to that, Captain Majid watched cartoons and movies with them. Some of the children could be seen playing with stones and sticks, dancing to music on tracks. These moments were captured in the released videos.
The memoir of bin Laden’s wife, son
Released in 2011, named “He is Bin Laden,” a book penned jointly by Najwa Ghanem, Osama bin Laden’s initial spouse, and her son Omar, encompasses numerous captivating particulars. The recordings seized from the Al-Qaeda leader’s secret residence authenticated a substantial number of the truths disclosed within the book.
In his memoir, Omar sought to convey what he could not directly say to his father, Osama bin Laden, in 1990. He knew that his father’s large family, which consisted of 14 children and four wives, had decided to leave everything behind in Saudi Arabia and move to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, before finally reaching Bora Tora and the mountains of Tehran. Omar also knew that his father might eventually read the book.
Wives and children travel from Jeddah airport
In the first year, Mariam and Khalid, along with their three children, came along with Saber, the wife of Khadija’s fourth son, Laden’s Bin, who is the eventual heir of Al-Qaeda. Saber also traveled with his only son, Hamza, and his third wife, Khairiya, who is Laden’s Bin. In addition, Aisha Amer, Ali’s second wife, had three children, Sharif and Khadija. In the first year, there were also the additions of Eman, Fatima, Mohammed, Othman, Omar, known as “the Joker,” Saad, Rahman Abdul, Abdullah, and eight children of Laden’s Bin and Ghanem Najwa, who boarded a plane at the Jeddah airport, making a total of 18 members of Bin Laden’s family.
In Sudan, specifically in the Riyadh district, Bin Laden had additional children during his five-year residency. Siham Saber gave birth to Amer, her fourth son, and her daughter Sumaya. Khadija gave birth to Aisha, her first daughter. Najwa gave birth to her son Laden, who later changed his name to “Bakr”.
Bin Laden, along with the fighters and his family, allocated one of their mountains for Mullah Nurullah. Afterwards, he decided to travel to the Tora Bora mountains and Jalalabad, selecting his destination in response to the Sudanese government’s request.
After that, Abdullah (15), the eldest son of Osama bin Laden, was followed by them. His wife, Khadija Al-Sharif, decided to go back to Saudi Arabia with their three children Ali, Amer, and Aisha. The bin Laden family reached a crossroads during their stay in Sudan.
Three caves for the wives and their 30 children
The Sudanese citizenship was substituted with their Saudi citizenship, and the bin Laden relatives were astonished upon learning that, as per Omar’s decision to separate from his father in 2000, they would need to alter their last name from bin Laden to ‘Mohamed Awad Abboud’.
Following their time at the Abbottabad hideout, the quantity of children increased twofold, all of whom were born to Amal Al Sadeh subsequent to her arrival from Yemen. In the Tora Bora mountains, Najwa delivered her eleventh and final offspring, ‘Nour’, where bin Laden had assigned three distinct caves for his three spouses and their offspring.
In a letter written by Khalid in 2010, it was stated that Abd and Safia, the two youngest children of Laden bin Laden, were probably the most about 30 years old. Additionally, Hussein Al and Seham, who were about 2 and a half years old, were the older children of Laden bin Laden. Aisha, who was a few months older than Asia, was also going to Asia. Furthermore, there was a younger child named Osama, and other children of Laden bin Laden included Ibrahim, who was 6 years old, Zeinab, and a few others.
Despite knowing what would happen to his family, Bin Laden prevented Iman, his other daughter, and his son Abdul Rahman, who suffered from autism, from taking them to the Trade World Center towers after the terror strikes. Finally, in 2011, Bin Laden allowed his wife Najwa and their two young daughters Nour and Ruqaya to travel to Syria, with only their eldest son.
Iman, 10, and Laden, 6, were permitted to join their mother and relocate to Syria after spending nine years in Iran, as authorized by the Iranian government.
The wives returned to their families
Conversely, the remaining three spouses and eleven offspring in Abbottabad were compelled to reunite with their respective families following their apprehension by Pakistani authorities, thereby concluding their one-year incarceration for unlawfully crossing the Pakistani border. Conversely, on another note.
In 2013, Fatima’s sister, Suleiman Bughith’s wife, had the fortunate opportunity to depart from Iran and reunite with her family, accompanied by her two sisters, Sumaya and Mariam. Sadly, Khadija, the daughter of bin Laden and Abdullah al-Halabi’s wife, passed away in 2009 following the birth of her fifth daughter, Fatima, in Waziristan.
“Osama had once expressed his desire for his children to resemble the fingers of his right hand, with his thoughts exerting influence over their actions, much like his mind governs the movement of his limbs. Consequently, Hamza became ensnared by his father’s former companions. Nonetheless, the destiny of the other two individuals remains uncertain, while Saad met his demise in a drone attack following his departure from Iran. Regarding the brothers, their situation remains undisclosed.”
The father and leader of the most perilous terrorist group met his demise in the end, while the children were entrusted to the custody of Egyptian authorities.