RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has stripped citizenship from Hamza Bin Laden, the son of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, following a royal order, the official gazette of the Kingdom reported on Friday.

According to the report, the royal decree, which was issued on Nov. 29, 2018 (21/3/1440H), was published in Umm Al-Qura on Feb. 21, 2019 (16/6/1440H).

The report said the Ministry of Interior announced the approval of the decree and that Hamza Bin Laden had been removed from “official records.”

On Thursday, the US State Department offered a $1 million reward for information on Hamza Bin Laden.

The location of Hamza Bin Laden has been the subject of speculation for years with reports of him living in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria or under house arrest in Iran.

“Hamza bin Laden is the son of deceased former AQ leader Osama bin Laden and is emerging as a leader in the AQ franchise,” a State Department statement said, referring to Al-Qaeda.

The State Department said that it would offer $1 million for information leading to his location in any country.

Bin Laden, who according to the United States is around 30, has threatened attacks against the United States to avenge the 2011 killing of his father, who was living in hiding in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad, by US special forces.

US intelligence agencies increasingly see the younger bin Laden as a successor to his father for the mantle of global jihad, especially as the even more extreme Daesh (the so-called IS) is down to its last sliver of land in Syria.

In 2015, Bin Laden released an audio message urging militants in Syria to unite, claiming that the fight in the war-torn country paves the way to “liberating Palestine.”

Hamza Bin Laden’s whereabouts have been a matter of dispute. He is believed to have spent years along with his mother in Iran.

One of Hamza Bin Laden’s half-brothers told The Guardian last year that Hamza’s whereabouts were unknown but that he may be in Afghanistan. — SG with inputs from agencies