MADAGASCAR, Jan 31: A brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden, who had been sought in the Philippines for alleged terror financing, has been killed in Madagascar in what appeared to be a burglary, the victim's brother said on Wednesday.

Jamal Khalifa, who was married to a sister of the Al Qaeda leader, was killed when gunmen broke into his house in a Madagascan village on Tuesday, his brother Malek Khalifa said in a phone interview from his home in Jeddah.

Malek, who was distraught when recounting his brother's death, said 25-30 armed men broke into Jamal's house ''while he was sleeping,'' and killed him. ''They stole everything -- his computer, all of his things,'' he said.—AP