BAD DEATH OF TERROR

12-year-old daughter saw captured Osama executed

Islamabad: Osama bin Laden was unarmed at the time of his killing and his 12-year-old daughter saw her father being shot dead, it was revealed on Wednesday, even as the exact circumstances of the al-Qaida chief's death remained unclear and the White House changed versions.

An Arabic TV station claimed the child had, in fact, said her father was taken prisoner and then shot, in an execution of sorts.

The girl is now in custody with a Yemeni wife of Osama's, an Inter-Services Intelligence ( ISI) official said. Up to 12 women and children who survived the US raid on their villa were now in custody, he said.

The child, reported to be 12 years old, "was the one who confirmed to us that Osama was dead and shot and taken away", said the official.

An Arabic television station went further, saying, "a source in Pakistani security quoted the daughter of Osama bin Laden that the leader of al-Qaida was not killed inside his house, but had been arrested and was killed later".

Four bodies were retrieved from the daring covert attack, including one of bin Laden's sons, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Up to three women and nine children, including the young Yemeni woman who was shot in the leg and a daughter of the Saudi-born mastermind, were in detention, he said. "There are a lot of questions we want to ask them," another intelligence official said.

Taliban create special unit to avenge Osama killing

The Taliban have created a special unit in Afghanistan to avenge the killing of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, an outfit commander in Afghanistan told Al Jazeera.

"We have created a special unit to avenge the martyr Sheikh Osama bin Laden," Dawran Safi told the satellite TV channel. "We will take forward his standard and wage war against foreigners and their agents," Safi said in an interview from the Afghan capital.

Wife shot in leg, screamed Osama's name

Osama bin Laden's youngest wife, Amal Al-Sadah, 27 was shot in the leg in Monday's raid on the Abbottabad complex where the terror kingpin was in hiding.

Reports say that Osama and those with him in the sprawling three-storey structure were taken by surprise when the Seals descended on them. The al-Qaida chief was sleeping in a baggy salwar suit, reports say.

As the Seals secured the compound and moved into the building, there was confusion and reports say, she shrieked out Osama's name which gave the terror mastermind away in the melee.

Early reports had said she was being used as a human shield to protect Osama but later the US establishment came up with a denial of the story. It was later said that one woman had indeed got caught in the crossfire and had died, but she was not Osama's youngest wife.

This unnamed woman could well be the wife of bin Laden's courier, Sheikh Abu Ahmed, who died in the raid. In the new version of the story that White House press secretary Jay Carney gave out, he said: "bin Laden's wife rushed the assaulters and was shot in the leg but not killed."

Al-Sadah was was married to Osama when she was just 17 and fiercely loyal to her husband. Their wedding took place in Afghanistan. Yemen born, the marriage was reportedly arranged to strengthen the al-Qaida chief's links with the Gulf.

Her father was supposed to have been "proud" when he gave her away to the global terror kingpin. But bin Laden sent her back to Yemen out of concern for her safety. Al-Sadah refused to stay home and managed to return despite being under surveillance. She told interrogators that she had been living in the mansion since 2005.

Bin Laden had €500 cash, was ready to flee

In indications that Osama bin Laden was prepared to flee at short notice, cash totalling 500 euros and two telephone numbers were found sewn into his clothing when he was killed by US commandos deep inside Pakistan on Sunday.

US media reported that this information was given by top intelligence officials to members of the Congress at a classified briefing at which CIA director Leon Panetta was present.

Another US media report said the American troops that swooped on bin Laden's compound at Abbottabad may have laid their hands on the "largest potential intelligence coup of the post-9/11 era".

The Navy Seals, which conducted the 40-minute operation, carried off five computers, 10 hard drives and more than 100 storage devices and removable flash drives, the Wall Street Journal said.

A CIA task force, which has already conducted a preliminary analysis of the material, is hunting for leads on the location of the slain al-Qaida leader's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is widely expected to ascend to the top of the outfit.

US publication 'Politico', quoting sources who attended Panetta's briefing, reported that the CIA chief told lawmakers about the items found in bin Laden's clothing in response to a question about why he wasn't guarded by more security personnel at his home in Abbottabad.

The answer, according to one source, bin Laden believed that "his network was strong enough to give him a heads-up" before any US strike.

The evidence of cash, which amounts to $740 and phone numbers was divulged to support the US administration's belief that bin Laden was prepared to escape the compound if alerted to an impending attack.