Osama's Yemeni widow to be repatriated: Pakistan diplomat

Dubai, May 9: Slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's detained relatives, including his 29-year-old Yemeni widow, will be repatriated back to their home countries after their initial interrogations are completed, a Pakistani diplomat has said.

Bin Laden's Yemeni widow Amal Ahmed Abdul Fattah was with her husband in a bedroom when US special forces stormed the house. She was shot in the leg while attempting to defend her husband and is currently being detained in a hospital in Pakistan.

"They (bin Laden's relatives) are in safe hands and when initial questions are completed, they will be sent to their home countries," Pakistan's Deputy Ambassador to Yemen Diyar Khan was quoted as saying by the Yemen Times newspaper.

Fattah is from a Yemeni family living in the Al-Sayyani district of Ibb governorate, 193 km south the capital Sana'a. She was married to bin Laden in 2000 at the age of 18. She was the fifth and youngest wife of bin Laden.

The US has also asked Pakistan to provide it access to all non combatants, including bin Laden's three wives, detained by the Pakistani authorities.

"We need to work with them (Pakistan) on assessing all the evidence out of that compound and all of the evidence associated with Osama bin Laden's presence there for six years. They have in their custody all the noncombatants from the compound, including three wives of Osama bin Laden. We've asked for access to those folks," White House National Security Advisor Tom Donilon has said.

PTI