'Missile killed Bin Laden son'

One of Osama bin Laden's sons was probably killed by a US missile strike in Pakistan earlier this year, an intelligence official said.

Agents were "80 to 85 per cent" sure that Saad bin Laden was dead but without a body it was hard to be certain, the official told the US-based National Public Radio. The son was not deliberately targeted and happened to be "in the wrong place at the wrong time", the official said.

Saad bin Laden, the al-Qa'ida leader's third son who was in his late 20s, was active in al-Qa'ida but not a major player. US intelligence agencies believe he fled to Pakistan after spending several years under house arrest in Iran. He was probably killed by a Hellfire missile fired from a US Predator drone, the official added.

Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding in the rugged, mountainous tribal area that runs along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.