Bin Laden was a US prisoner before being killed: Iran

TEHRAN: Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was a prisoner in US custody for "sometime" before he was killed by the American military, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday.

"I have exact information that bin Laden was held by the American military for sometime... until the day they killed him he was a prisoner held by them," the president said in a live interview on Iranian state television.

"Please pay attention. This is important. He was held by them for sometime. They made him sick and while he was sick they killed him," Ahmadinejad added.

He accused US President Barack Obama for announcing the Al-Qaeda leader's death for "political gain."

"What the US president has done is for domestic political gain. In other words, they killed him for Mr Obama's election and now they are seeking to replace him with someone else," Ahmadinejad said without elaborating.

Bin Laden was shot dead on May 2 in a US commando raid on a heavily fortified compound near Islamabad, Pakistan.

On May 4, Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi too had cast doubt on bin Laden's death, saying there were "ambiguities" over the way he was killed.

The Americans "said they threw his body in the sea. Why did they not allowed an independent expert to examine the body to say if it was bin Laden or not?" Vahidi said. (AFP)

Saudi diplomat shot dead in Karachi

KARACHI: A Saudi diplomat was killed in a drive-by shooting near the consulate in Karachi on Monday, the second attack on Saudi interests in Pakistan's biggest city in less than a week, officials said.

The motive of the attack was not immediately clear, but authorities said they were investigating whether it was connected to the death of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US forces in Pakistan on May 2.

An official from the media section of the Saudi embassy identified the man as a Saudi diplomat. Karachi police named him as Hassan al-Khatani.

Police said that the Saudi had been driving a vehicle with diplomatic plates when two motorcycle riders unleashed a hail of gunfire at a crossroads in Defence.

"The consulate employee died of multiple bullet wounds on the spot," said Inspector General of Sindh Police Fayyaz Ahmad Leghari.

"The attackers fled on the motorbike," he added. "At this moment, we can't say who killed him," Leghari said.

Provincial home ministry official Sharfuddin Memon identified the dead man as a junior officer at the consulate.

"We are investigating if it was linked to the Abbottabad operation or was an isolated incident," he said.

Last Wednesday, drive-by assailants threw two grenades at the consulate in Karachi in what officials said could have been reaction to bin Laden's death.

But there was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

Saudi Arabia condemned the grenade assault a "terror attack" and said it had "full confidence" in Pakistan's ability to arrest the assailants, bring them to justice and provide the necessary protection to the Saudi mission. (AFP)