ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's military paints a different picture than the United States of Osama bin Laden's final days: far from the terror mastermind still trying to strike America, he's seen as an aging terrorist hiding in barren rooms, short of money and struggling to maintain his grip on al Qaeda.
But the CIA is saying he was in touch with key members of al Qaeda, playing a strong role in planning and directing attacks by al Qaeda and its affiliates in Yemen and Somalia, senior US officials said Friday, citing documents found during the Monday morning raid in which bin Laden was killed.
Three of bin Laden's wives were living with him in the compound and are being interrogated by Pakistani authorities, who took them into custody after Monday's raid, along with 13 children, eight of them bin Laden's.
Their accounts could help shed light on the US military operation that killed the al Qaeda leader and reveal how he was able to avoid capture for nearly 10 years.
One of the wives, identified as Yemeni-born Amal Ahmed Abdullfattah, told interrogators she had been staying in bin Laden's hideout since 2006 and never left the upper floors of the large but sparsely furnished building, said a Pakistani intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with the agency's policy.
The official did not indicate whether bin Laden was with her the whole time, a period in which the Pakistani military says the al Qaeda chief's influence and financial status eroded.
Disputes over money between bin Laden and his No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, led the group to split into two factions five or six years ago, with the larger faction controlled by al-Zawahri, according to two senior Pakistani military officials. Bin Laden was ''cash strapped'' in his final days, they said.
The officers spoke to a small group of Pakistani reporters late Thursday, and their comments were confirmed for The Associated Press by another top military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issues. The officer didn't provide details or say how his agency knew about bin Laden's financial situation or the split with his deputy.
The image coming out of Washington based on information seized from bin Laden's compound was far different.
It shows that bin Laden was a lot more involved in directing al Qaeda personnel and operations than sometimes thought over the last decade, officials said. And it suggests bin Laden was ''giving strategic direction'' to al Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, one defense official said.
US counterterrorism officials have long debated how big a role bin Laden and core al Qaeda leaders were playing in the attacks launched by affiliated terror groups, particularly al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which is based in Yemen, and al-Shabab in Somalia.
Bin Laden's first priority, an official said, was his own security. But the data shows that he was far more active in providing guidance and telling affiliated groups in Yemen and Somalia what they should or should not be doing.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive material.
The confiscated materials revealed al Qaeda plans for derailing an American train on the upcoming 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, US counterterrorism officials say.
They believe the plot, which seemed to be formulated in February 2010, was only in the initial planning stages, and there was no recent intelligence about any active plan for such an attack. The FBI and Homeland Security issued an intelligence bulletin with details of the plan to law enforcement around the country. The bulletin, marked ''for official use only,'' was obtained by the AP.
Already tense military and intelligence relations between the US and Pakistan have been further strained by the raid that killed bin Laden.
Both countries have an interest in their version of bin Laden's hidden life.
A weak bin Laden would make Pakistan's failure to unearth his hiding place in Abbottabad, a military town just two-and-a-half hours' drive from the capital, seem less of a glaring embarrassment, while a menacing bin Laden would make the US Navy SEAL raid that killed him a greater triumph.
The proximity of the al Qaeda chief's hideout to an elite military academy and the Pakistani capital has raised suspicions in Washington that bin Laden may have been protected by Pakistani security forces while on the run.
Pakistani officials have denied sheltering him and have criticized the US operation as a violation of their country's sovereignty. Pakistan's army, a key US ally in the Afghan war, threatened on Thursday to review cooperation with Washington if it stages any more attacks like the one that killed bin Laden. The army is considered the strongest institution in Pakistan, but its reputation has taken a beating in the wake of the raid. – AP
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