Facebook has undertaken a surge in the online province by shutting down a facebook account in the name of Osama bin Laden, after it attracted more than 1,000 “fans”. The account had been posting speeches and recordings of al Qaeda affiliated and support group Al-Sahab Media Group.

The page had been up since March 25, referring to the Al Qaeda leader as the “Prince of Mujahideen,” with profile location set to “mountains of the world” according to Arabic news site Elaph.

Osama's Facebook page

Osama Bin Laden is believed to be in hiding around the mountainous area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Facebook in a bid to distance itself from any potential negative press stated that they believed the account had no direct links with the terrorist group. “People often attempt to register fake accounts under the name of famous or infamous people,” Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said.

“There is no evidence to suggest that the account in question or the other dozens of people who have tried to present themselves as Osama bin Laden have any relation to the terrorist,” he said. “As is our standard practise, we have disabled the account.”