US intelligence has received new reports that Osama bin Laden received a kidney transplant in late February, but it’s unclear whether the reports are true, a defence official says.
Officials have received persistent reports that the leader of the al-Qaida terror network has severe kidney problems, but none has been verified to the satisfaction of US intelligence officials.
The defence official, while confirming the report, said on Monday it is possible it represents old information being reported again.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The latest reporting, believed to come from informants, again suggests that bin Laden received treatment with the help of dialysis machines supplied by Pakistan’s intelligence agency. He may have received the surgery in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
In February, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf said he believed bin Laden had died of kidney failure. He later backed off, saying he didn’t know whether bin Laden was alive or dead.
Another US official, also speaking on the condition of
anonymity, said on Monday there are still no credible indications that bin Laden has severe kidney problems or has ever required a transplant.
Earlier this year, analysts told the Senate Intelligence Committee they suspected bin Laden had been wounded by US bombing, explaining his pasty complexion and immobile arm in a recent video. But there was no direct evidence he was hit.
But poor health – either from US strikes or kidney failure – would explain bin Laden’s public silence this year. The last time officials had a fix on his location was in the Tora Bora region of Afghanistan in late December. He is believed to have fled as pro-US Afghan forces closed in. ? Sapa-AP