Osama’s family deported to Saudi Arabia

ISLAMABAD (PAN to Saudi Arabia nearly a year after the Al Qaeda leader was killed in a US raid in the country’s northwestern town of Abbotabad, a garrison city north of Islamabad.
The family, including three widows and their children, were flown out of Pakistan early on Friday morning after remaining in the country since the 9/11 mastermind was killed on May 2 last year in a secret US Navy SEAL operation.
Pakistani authorities had already demolished the Abbottabad house, with deportation marking a definitive end to an extremely embarrassing episode.
After 10 months in detention, the widows and two of bin Laden's older daughters were sentenced by a Pakistani court to 45 days' detention on charges of illegal entry and residency in the country and ordered to be deported.
Around midnight last night, a minibus collected the family members from the Islamabad house where they had served the sentence, which was completed 10 days ago.
The family were believed to number 12 - three widows, eight children and one grandchild - though an Interior Ministry spokesman said the orders covered the deportation of 14 bin Laden relatives.
They were taken to Islamabad airport to board a special flight to the Gulf kingdom. It took off shortly before 2am (0700 AEST) on Friday.
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