Son of Osama bin Laden urges Saudis to overthrow their government

The son of Osama Bin Laden has called for Saudis to overthrow the kingdom's rulers and expel US influence, according to a monitoring group.

In an undated audio message released by the al Qaeda-linked As-Sahab media organisation, Hamza Bin Laden urged Saudis to join Yemen's Al Qaeda branch, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to "gain the necessary experience" for combat, Site Intelligence Group reported.

It is the fourth message released by Hamza since August 2015. His father was killed in a US Navy Seals raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011, after more than a decade on the run.

US intelligence officials have said they believe that Bin Laden Sr was grooming Hamza to take over the leadership of the terrorist organisation.

Last month Hamza vowed revenge for his father's death and its policies in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and Somalia against the US both on its own soil and abroad.

Site Intelligence Group director Rita Katz said that there had been an increase in messages released by Al Qaeda in recent months, amid its rivalry with Islamic State for the mantle of the world's pre-eminent jihadist terror group.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was formed in 2009 following a merger of the organisation's Yemen and Saudi groups, and is considered one of the organisation's most dangerous branches.

Saudi Arabia is currently engaged in conflict with Shia rebel groups in Yemen, where Sunni jihadist groups Al Qaeda and Isis have seized control of swathes of territory.