For American citizenship, Pak official tipped US about Osama's whereabouts: Report

LONDON: A Pakistani intelligence officer, who wished to secure American citizenship for his family, gave details of Osama bin-Laden's whereabouts to the US, in a deal worth USD 25 million.

The Pakistani officer also informed the US officials that Saudis were paying off Pakistan and ISI to keep bin Laden hidden in the Abbotabad compound, the Daily Mail reported.

The paper said this account disputes widely published reports that a courier working for bin Laden was the catalyst for the famous Navy SEAL Team Six mission.

The deal, the Mail said, included the roughly USD 25 million reward offered by the State Department for information leading to the capture dead or alive of the al-Qaida leader, who was billed as the world's most wanted terrorist.

The State Department said it would not comment on the report.

But the report quoted to a blog claimed Pakistani military, as well as the spy agency ISI, not only knew about the American raid, but also cooperated.