Growing Up Bin Laden - Jean P. Sasson [180]
LADIN, ALSO KNOWN AS BAKR
Najwa’s ninth child and seventh son was born in 1993 in Jeddah when Najwa left Khartoum to fly to Saudi Arabia especially for his birth. Ladin was only seven years old when Najwa left Afghanistan on September 9, 2001. Osama would not allow Najwa to take her youngest son with her. Najwa does not know the fate of her young son, although it is thought that if Ladin survived the bombings of October 2001, he would be living in Pakistan with his father. If still alive in 2009, Ladin would be sixteen years old.
RUKHAIYA
Najwa’s tenth child and third daughter, Rukhaiya was born in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in 1997. Because of her extreme youth, Osama allowed Najwa to take Rukhaiya with her to Syria in 1999 when she left to give birth to her eleventh child. Najwa was also allowed to take Rukhaiya with her when she left Afghanistan for the final time on September 9, 2001. Rukhaiya is living with her mother in Syria. She is twelve years old.
NOUR
Najwa’s eleventh child and fourth daughter was born in Latakia, Syria, in 1999. Osama had granted Najwa’s request to take Nour, along with her sister Rukhaiya and one brother, Abdul Rahman, when she left Afghanistan in September 2001. Nour is living with her mother in Syria. She is nine years old.
Children with Second Wife, Khadijah
ALI
Khadijah’s first child and first son with Osama was born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After Khadijah and Osama divorced, Khadijah left Khartoum and returned to live in Saudi Arabia. Ten-year-old Ali accompanied his mother to Saudi Arabia, but returned the following year for one visit to Khartoum to see his father and half-siblings. A few years ago, Ali was arrested by Saudi security and charged with the illegal possession of a weapon. In 2008, after spending years in prison without trial, Ali was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. The family believes Ali to be innocent of any crime. In 2009, Ali will be twenty-three years old.
AMER
Khadijah’s second child and second son with Osama was born in Jeddah in 1990. When Khadijah left Khartoum to return to Saudi Arabia, Amer went with his mother, never seeing his father again. Today Amer is living in Saudi Arabia. In 2009, Amer will be nineteen years old.
AISHA
Khadijah’s third child and first and only daughter with Osama was born in Khartoum, Sudan, in 1992. In 1993, when Khadijah left Khartoum to return to Saudi Arabia, Aisha went with her mother, never seeing her father again. Today Aisha is living in Saudi Arabia. In 2009, Aisha will be fifteen years old.
Child with Third Wife, Khairiah
HAMZA
Khairiah’s first child and first son with Osama was born in 1989 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As of 2001, Hamza was Khairiah’s only child. Remaining with his mother and father in Afghanistan, it is not known if Hamza survived the American attacks of October and November 2001. In 2008, there was an al-Qaeda audiotape released, crediting Hamza as the speaker. Omar says that the recording was made years before September 11, 2001, when Hamza was still a young boy and Osama asked for volunteers to make the recording. Hamza was the only son who volunteered. If Hamza survived the bomb attacks in 2001, it is believed he would be with his father in the Pakistani tribal areas. If still alive in 2009, Hamza would be twenty years old.
Children with Fourth Wife, Siham
KADHIJA
Siham’s first child and first daughter with Osama was born in 1988 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At her 1999 wedding arranged by her father, Kadhija was married to a Saudi al-Qaeda fighter named Abdullah in 1999, when she was only eleven years old. Kadhija remained in Afghanistan with her mother and Siham and was there during the American