Osama bin Laden's son Hamza emerges as new face of al-Qaeda as he vows revenge against the US

Osama bin Laden's son Hamza has emerged as the new face of al-Qaeda. The son of the slain al-Qaeda leader is now threatening to strike against the US both at home and abroad.

In a 21-minute speech entitled We Are All Osama, Hamza has vowed to continue the militant group's fight against the US and its allies, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. The message was posted online

"We will continue striking you and targeting you in your country and abroad in response to your oppression of the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and the rest of the Muslim lands that did not survive your oppression," said Hamza in the message.

"As for the revenge by the Islamic nation for Sheikh Osama, may Allah have mercy on him, it is not revenge for Osama the person but it is revenge for those who defended Islam," he added.

Hamza, who is in his mid-twenties, was with his father in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks in the US. He has spent time with Osama bin Laden in Pakistan after the US-led invasion pushed much of al-Qaeda's senior leadership there, according to the Brookings Institution, Reuters reports.

"Hamza provides a new face for al-Qaeda, one that directly connects to the group's founder. He is an articulate and dangerous enemy," said Bruce Riedel from Brookings.

Hamza was introduced to the world in an audio message last year by the terror group's new head Ayman al-Zawahiri. Hamza provides a "younger voice for the group whose ageing leaders have struggled to inspire militants around the world galvanised by Islamic State," Reuters reports.

Osama bin Laden was killed while he was hiding out in Pakistan by US commandos in 2011. According to Reuters, documents recovered from bin Laden's home and published last year by the US, show that his aides had tried to reunite father and son. Hamza had been under house arrest in Iran.