Abbottabad residents question authenticity of Osama video

Abbottabad/Islamabad: Pakistanis in Abbottabad and Islamabad have expressed skepticism over the authenticity of recently released video of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, filmed before his death at a Pakistan compound this week.

The videos, released by US intelligence officials, were offered as further proof that Navy SEALs killed the Al Qaeda leader.

Some of the videos showed bin Laden watching himself on television but some locals are still not convinced he is dead, or that the videos were actually of him.

"It could be fake," said Khurram Butt, a lecturer at a local college. "Why did they not release before? They confiscated many things from there."

"Allah knows better whether it is true or false but my heart does not accept his death," said Osman Ahmed, a public transport driver.

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For its part Al Qaeda has confirmed the death of its founder, but did not announce a successor.

Meanwhile, as US investigators comb through a treasure trove of computer data and documents seized from bin Laden's home, Pakistani officials are faced with the problem of what to do with three of his wives and eight of his children.

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Pakistan's foreign ministry said Sunday that government officials were still holding the wives and children for questioning and that so far, no country had sought their extradition.

Pakistan gained custody of bin Laden's family members on Monday after a covert US operation killed the Al Qaeda chief at his hideout in the northwestern city of Abbottabad.

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Among them was bin Laden's Yemeni-born wife, Amal Ahmed Abdullfattah.

She has told Pakistani investigators that she moved to the home in 2006 and never left the compound.

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The Pakistani army has said it had no idea bin Laden was in hiding in Abbottabad, an army town only two and a half hours' drive from the capital, Islamabad.

That claim has met with skepticism from US officials, who have repeatedly criticised Pakistan for failing to crack down on Islamist militants.

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Bin Laden led a life on the run, yet he kept his family close.

One of his sons, Khalid, was killed during the raid. Abdullfattah, his youngest wife, was shot in the leg and was initially taken to a military hospital, a Pakistani military official has said.

CIA officers have not been given access to the women or children in custody, the official said.

Their accounts could help shed light on the US military operation that killed the Al Qaeda leader and on how he was able to avoid capture for nearly 10 years.