Saudis Believe Bin Laden Dead From Typhoid Disease

[Nonphixion]

French newspaper l'Est Republicain claims Al Qaeda number one died of typhoid in Pakistan.


Saudis believe bin Laden dead

PARIS - A French newspaper Saturday published what it said was a report by the country's intelligence services that said Saudi Arabia believes Osama bin Laden died of typhoid in Pakistan this month.

France's foreign intelligence service, the DGSE, refused to confirm the substance of the report, and no immediate official reaction was forthcoming from Saudi officials.

But European and Pakistani officials tracking bin Laden's whereabouts said, on condition of anonymity, that the report could not be seen as reliable.

Often rumoured to be dead in the past -- only to appear later in audio or video recordings -- the leader of the Al-Qaeda network was believed to have taken refuge on the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Previous reported rumours have said that he suffered from a kidney disorder and was in poor health.

The French regional newspaper l'Est Republicain published what it said was a DGSE report dated September 21.

"According to a usually reliable source, the Saudi security services are now convinced that Osama bin Laden is dead," the DGSE report quoted by the newspaper said.

It said that "information gathered by the Saudis" indicates that bin Laden "might have succumbed to a very serious case of typhoid fever resulting in partial paralysis of his lower limbs while in Pakistan on August 23, 2006.

"His geographic isolation provoked by constant fleeing is believed to have made medical assistance impossible (and) on September 4, 2006, the Saudi security services received preliminary information of his death."

L'Est Republicain said the Saudis were "waiting to obtain further details and notably the exact place of burial before officially announcing the news."

Bin Laden has been held responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington that killed 3,019 people.

His Al-Qaeda organisation has been linked to several other attacks, including the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa, a 2000 suicide bomb attack on a US warship off Yemen, and the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

Born in Saudi Arabia to a wealthy family with close ties to the oil-rich state's royal dynasty, bin Laden has been on the run since October 2001, when the United States led an invasion of Afghanistan and expelled the Taliban regime which had been harbouring him.

Middle East Online

----

[Nonphixion]

(Recasts with Defence Ministry statement)

France Orders Probe Into Bin Laden Death Report Leak
Source: Reuters

PARIS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - France's Defence Ministry said on Saturday a secret service report saying al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had died could not be confirmed but said it would launch an inquiry into the leak of secret documents.

The Defence Ministry issued the statement after a French regional newspaper, L'Est Republicain, published a report quoting a French secret service report as saying Saudi Arabia is convinced al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden died of typhoid in Pakistan last month.

"The information published this morning in the L'Est Republicain newspaper relating to the supposed death of Osama bin Laden cannot be confirmed," the Defence Ministry said.

"The Defence Minister (Michele Alliot-Marie) has asked that an inquiry be carried out to determine the origin of the leak that can be punished by criminal charges."

The newspaper printed what it said was a copy of the report dated Sept. 21 and said it was shown to President Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and France's interior and defence ministers on the same day.

"According to a usually reliable source, the Saudi services are now convinced that Osama bin Laden is dead," the document said.

"The information gathered by the Saudis indicates that the head of al Qaeda was a victim while he was in Pakistan on Aug. 23, 2006, of a very serious case of typhoid which led to a partial paralysis of his internal organs."

The report, which was stamped with a "confidential defence" label and the initials of the French secret service, said Saudi Arabia first heard the information on Sept. 4 and that it was waiting for more details before making an official announcement.

A senior official in Pakistan said no foreign government had shared information with Pakistan that would back up the report of bin Laden's death.

Saudi-born bin Laden was based in Afghanistan until the Taliban government there was overthrown by U.S.-backed forces in 2001. Since then, U.S. and Pakistani officials have regularly said they believe he is hiding somewhere on the rugged border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The last videotaped message released by bin Laden was in late 2004, but there have been several low quality audio tapes released this year. (Additional reporting by Islamabad bureau)

Reuters Alertnet: France orders probe into bin Laden death report leak

[Scrum]

So france thinks saudi arabia thinks the pakis have an intel report saying OBL is dead?

IBstylerodsayingheknewitallalong

[imind]

ibfrenchhaterssayhesinparis