Osama was expecting a tip-off to make his getaway: Panetta

Washington, Sept 7: Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist was hoping to get some kind of warning to make a getaway in case of a raid to nab him, which he never got, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said.

"I can't tell you that it was a Pakistani individual or ISI or anybody else that would provide that warning," Panetta told the popular Charlie Rose show in an interview where he said he had not come across any evidence so far to suggest that the top leadership of Pak Army or the ISI knew about hideout of the al-Qaeda leader.

Panetta, who was the top US spy at that time said, "But, I am convinced that somebody was targeted to provide that warning in the event that something like that would happen, but I can''t tell you who that was."

The former CIA chief said as Americans planned the Abbottabad raid they were taking into account that bin Laden would have an getaway plan handy, like underground tunnels or false holes in the walls.

"The interesting thing was this, that you would assume that bin Laden, who was in this large compound -- I mean, our suspicions were always, ''Well, they've got to have a tunnel for an escape, they've got to have, you know, a hole in the wall that they can hide in, they've got to have a way to get out the back door if there's any kind of raid, surely they've planned for all of that," he said.

"I can't tell you how long we discussed the possibilities of what would happen -- once we raid and he -- and how -- and he's gone, or how is he gone.

PTI