In Interrogation, Osama bin Laden’s Widow Details His Life on the Run

  • Share
  • Read Later
AFP / Getty Images

Osama bin Laden fathered four children — two born in government hospitals — and lived in five houses during his nine years on the run in Pakistan, according to his youngest widow. The details of the report were originally published in the Pakistani paper Dawn on Thursday.

According to the Associated Press, the Jan. 19 interrogation report of Amal Ahmed Abdel-Fateh al-Sada introduces greater insight into bin Laden’s life on the run, but raises more questions concerning how he was able to evade Western intelligence in the years following Sept. 11.

According to Fateh’s account, she married bin Laden in 2000 and joined him and his other two wives at his base outside Kandahar. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the family was forced to “scatter,” and she moved to Karachi with her newborn daughter.

After reuniting with her husband in 2002 in Peshawar, the family moved to the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan, roughly 80 miles north of Islamabad. They lived in two different houses over the course of their stay in the area, according to the report.

(MORE: Death Comes for the Master Terrorist: Osama bin Laden)

The family moved again in 2003 to Haripur where Fateh gave birth to two children in government hospitals. The report states she stayed for “2-3 hours” at the hospitals, and according to the New York Times, a separate document says she gave false identity papers to staff.

In 2005, the family made the final move to Abbottadad where Fateh gave birth to two more children. It was there that Navy SEAL commando raid took place in May 2011, resulting in the death of Osama bin Laden. Fateh was shot in the leg.

The testimony raises questions about how bin Laden was able to travel throughout inhabited areas all over the country, undetected by security forces. Fateh’s account includes little detail on this matter.

All three wives are currently in Pakistani custody awaiting charges for illegally staying in the country, which carries a potential five-year jail sentence. The youngest widow is originally from Yemen while the older wives, Kharia Hussain Sabir and Siham Sharif, are Saudi Arabian citizens. Both of the older women have largely refused to cooperate with authorities.

PHOTOS: The U.S. Department of Defense Releases Video of Osama bin Laden