Bin Laden Widows in Pakistan Questioned by C.I.A.

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WASHINGTON — C.I.A. interrogators questioned three wives of Osama bin Laden for the first time on Thursday, 10 days after they were taken by Pakistani security forces from the compound where the Al Qaeda leader was killed, an American official confirmed on Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to give any details about the duration of the questioning or what was learned.

American officials have many questions for them: where other top Qaeda operatives are located; where Bin Laden lived before moving to Abbottabad, Pakistan; which Pakistani officials may have visited the compound in Abbottabad. But the wives are believed to have lived very cloistered lives, and it is unclear what they may know or how cooperative they may be.

The three widows, Khairiah Sabar, Siham Sabar and Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, who is also known as Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, had been held and questioned for days by Pakistani officials before the C.I.A. interrogators spoke to them. Ms. Abdulfattah, who is Yemeni, was shot in the leg during the assault on Bin Laden’s compound by Navy Seals.



http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/14/wo.../14widows.html