PARIS - France's Defense Ministry said on Saturday it could not confirm
a newspaper report quoting French secret services as saying al Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden had died but would launch an inquiry into the leak of secret
papers.
The Defense Ministry issued the statement after the French
regional newspaper L'Est Republicain said Saudi Arabia was convinced bin Laden
had died of typhoid in Pakistan last month.
"The information published this morning in the L'Est Republicain newspaper
relating to the supposed death of Osama bin Laden cannot be confirmed," the
Defense Ministry said.
"The Defense Minister (Michele Alliot-Marie) has asked that an inquiry be
carried out to determine the origin of the leak that can be punished by criminal
charges."
A U.S. intelligence official told Reuters the report should be treated with
caution and a senior Pakistan government official said Islamabad had not
received any information from any foreign government that would corroborate the
story.
The Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry spokesman was not available for comment
and a Western diplomat in Riyadh said the diplomatic community had no such
information.
"If anyone was in the picture, I doubt it would be Saudi intelligence. Even
if Saudi Arabia had information, they'd pass it on to the United States, not
France. It doesn't ring true," the diplomat said.
RELIABLE SOURCE
The French newspaper printed what it said was a copy of the report dated
September 21 and said it was passed on to President Jacques Chirac and Prime
Minister Dominique de Villepin on the same day.
"According to a usually reliable source, the Saudi services are now convinced
that Osama bin Laden is dead," the document said.
"The information gathered by the Saudis indicates that the head of al Qaeda
was a victim while he was in Pakistan on August 23, 2006, of a very serious case
of typhoid which led to a partial paralysis of his internal organs."
The report, which was stamped with a "confidential defense" label and the
initials of the French secret service, said Saudi Arabia first heard the
information on September 4 and that it was waiting for more details before
making an official announcement.
The U.S. intelligence official, who declined to be named, said bin Laden had
long been rumored to be suffering from kidney ailments and is reported to have
received dialysis.
"We have believed him to be in declining health for some time and there have
been other rumors of his demise."
He said bin Laden had "minimal operational involvement at this time" in al
Qaeda.
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