Hamza Bin Laden, the son of al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden, was killed in a US operation, President Donald Trump has confirmed in a statement released by the White House.

Osama Bin Laden’s son reportedly died in an air strike last month.

Hamza Bin Laden was officially designated by the US as a global terrorist two years ago.

Osama Bin Laden’s son was widely seen as a potential successor. Thought to be about 30, he had sent out calls for attacks on the US and other countries.

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President Trump said in a brief statement issued by the White House: “Hamza Bin Laden, the high-ranking al-Qaeda member and son of Osama Bin Laden, was killed in a United States counter-terrorism operation in the Afghanistan/Pakistan region.

“The loss of Hamza Bin Laden not only deprives al-Qaeda of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities of the group.”

The statement did not specify the timing of the operation.

As recently as February, the US government had offered $1million for information leading to Hamza Bin Laden’s capture.

Hamza Bin Laden was seen as an emerging leader of al-Qaeda. It was reported in August that he had been killed in a military operation in the last two years and the US government was involved, but the exact date and time were unclear.