U.S. granted access to speak to bin Laden＇s wives
Abbottabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The United States will be given access to Osama bin Laden＇s wives, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik told CNN on Tuesday.
On Monday, a senior Pakistani intelligence source said the United States could only question bin Laden＇s wives if their "country of origin has been asked for permission."
Malik, in an interview Tuesday with CNN, did not give a timeline for when U.S. officials may speak with the wives and did not say where the access would take place.
Pakistani officials have said bin Laden＇s family members will be repatriated to their home countries after initial interrogations. One of bin Laden＇s wives is from Yemen, the official said, while a well-placed U.S. official who would not speak on the record said the other two are from Saudi Arabia.
All three were taken into Pakistani custody after the May 2 raid by U.S. commandos that killed bin Laden, the leader of the al Qaeda terrorist movement.
The 29-year-old Yemeni wife, Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, was wounded during the raid. The U.S. official identified the other two women as Khairiah Sabar, also known as "Umm Hamza," and Siham Sabar, or "Umm Khalid."
Pakistani official deny leak of CIA agent＇s name
While U.S. officials have raised questions about how bin Laden could have hidden for years in a compound in a city with heavy Pakistani military presence, Malik denied any suggestions that the world＇s most wanted terrorist may have had a support network in the Pakistani government, military or intelligence services.
Militants against whom Pakistan has been battling would have been the ones providing support, Malik said. |
|
