JEDDAH, 5 October - Osama Bin Laden's relatives have denied that a widely reported telephone conversation between Osama and his mother ever took place, Al-Madinah newspaper said yesterday.
A member of the Bin Laden family dismissed the New York Times report that Osama had talked with his mother while she was in Syria on her annual vacation and told her that he would not be able to talk with her again as massive events would take place during the next few weeks. Osama did not communicate with his mother for the last several years and does has not used a telephone since he discovered that his conversations were being electronically monitored by the United States, the source said. The US newspaper was also wrong when it said Osama talked to his "stepmother", because this woman is in fact was his real mother. The man who accompanied her to Syria also denied any possibility that Saudi officials would interrogate the mother about the alleged telephone conversation.
He said the opposite is the true as Interior Minister Prince Naif and assistant Interior Minister for security affairs Prince Muhammad ibn Naif were taking special care of her.
The Bin Laden family did not leave the US for the Kingdom because of harassment or security threats, but as a precautionary measure, just as many others had, the relatives added.
