By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Three of Osama bin Laden’s widows were “hostile” towards the Americans when they were interviewed by US intelligence officers under the supervision of Pakistani’s intelligence service, US media reports said citing sources.
The women were all interviewed together this week with members of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) present in the room along with the US intelligence officers, CNN said citing a senior Pakistani government official and two senior US officials.
The Americans had wanted to question the women separately to figure out inconsistencies in their stories, but the eldest of the three widows spoke for the group.
All three officials cited by CNN said that the interview didn’t yield much new information, while adding that it was early in the investigative process.
The youngest of the three widows, 29-year-old Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah of Yemen, was shot in the leg May 2 by a small team of US Navy commandos.
A US official has identified the other two as Khairiah Sabar, also known as “Umm Hamza”, and Siham Sabar, or “Umm Khalid”.
While the US forces flew off with Osama’s body, they left behind the three widows as well as several children – some of them fathered by the Al Qaeda leader – at his hideout in Abbottabad, about 50 km north of Islamabad.
Interviews with Osama’s widows aren’t the only things that the US is hoping to get from Pakistan, as it continues its investigation of Al Qaeda.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that the Obama administration also wants “the materials that were collected by the Pakistanis after the US commandos” left his hideout.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])