Osama bin Laden living in Abbotabad for 5 years, says wife

Wife of Osama bin Laden has told investigators that the al-Qaida leader had been living in Abbottabad, for five years, senior Pakistani army officials told a group of reporters on Thursday.

The wife of Osama bin Laden told the investigators that she had not gone out of her room for five years and Osama also stayed there during the same period. They said three wives of Osama bin Laden and 13 children are in the custody of the Pakistani authorities.

The Yemeni wife of Osama bin Laden, who received a bullet at her leg, said that Osama had been alive before she felt unconscious. But a daughter of Osama bin Laden confirmed that her father was shot dead in front of her.

When asked if the U.S. has asked for the hand-over of the arrested family members of Osama bin Laden, the military officials said "the U.S. seeks custody of everyone."

The Pakistani officials said that Pakistan had passed on some secret information to the United States. They said several calls from an Arabic-speaking man to Saudi Arabia were also traced, who had talked about the money transfer. They said Pakistani forces would have conducted operation had they received any information about Osama's whereabouts.