Najwa Ghanhem
Najwa bin Laden, née Ghanem, is a Syrian woman who was the first wife and first cousin of Osama bin Laden, being the daughter of his mother's brother. She is also known as Um Abdallah. She was born to Ibrahim and Nabeeha in Lattakia, Syria. Osama married Najwa in 1974 at the age of fourteen in Latakia. She had travelled with Osama to Sudan and Afghanistan. According to Abu Jandal, she left Afghanistan before September 11 and did not return. In 2005, Hutaifa Azzam, son of Abdullah Azzam, stated that she was living in Damascus with her son Abdel Rahman. She is the mother of Saad bin Laden, as well as at least 10 more children. She co-authored Growing Up bin Laden with her son Omar. Her daughter Iman who was released by Iran in 2010 went to live with her in Syria. According to a close family member in 2011, Najwa's mother died of shock and grief after hearing of her son-in-law's death.
