One of Osama bin Laden's sons went missing in the midst of the United States Navy SEALs' raid that eliminated the dreaded terrorist in his Abbottabad hideout more than a week ago, according to the slain al-Qaeda chief's three wives who are in Pakistan's custody.
The women said that one of bin Laden's sons has not been seen since the May 2 raid, unnamed Pakistani officials were quoted by ABC News as saying. The son was not identified, but Pakistani investigators agreed that it appeared that someone was missing from the sprawling compound, the report said.
Later, however, one US official said there was no evidence that anyone was missing from the Abbottabad compound. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, also told CNN that in a recent briefing with the Central Intelligence Agency, there was no mention of a missing son.
US officials said that one of bin Laden's sons, Khalid, was killed in the raid. It is not known if another son, Hamza, was in the compound at the time of the raid, though his mother is reportedly among the wives of bin Laden who are in custody.
The US has previously denied the SEALs took anyone from the compound other than bin Laden's body.