Pak denies report of Laden's death

Islamabad: The Pakistan Government on Saturday said that no foreign government had as yet corroborated a French newspaper report that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had died of typhoid in Pakistan a month ago.

Reacting to Saturday's report in the French daily L'Est Republicain, a government official said: "No government has shared any such information with us so far, which is the normal thing to do under such circumstances".

The L'Est Republicain said that it had in its possession a French secret service report that quoted Saudi Arabia as saying that it was convinced that Osama bin Laden had died of typhoid in late August.

"The information gathered by the Saudis indicates that Osama became a victim of typhoid while he was in Pakistan on August 23, 2006, which led to a partial paralysis of his internal organs."

L'Est Republicain printed what it said was a copy of the report dated September 21, and said it was shown to President Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and France's interior and defence ministers on the same day.

The report, stamped with a "confidential defence" label and the initials of the French secret service, said Saudi Arabia first heard the information on September 4, and that it was waiting for more details before making an official announcement.

The French Defence Ministry has said that it will be launching an inquiry into the leak of secret documents, but said in a statement it could not confirm the report of Osama's death.

Saudi-born Bin Laden was based in Afghanistan until the Taliban government there was overthrown by US-backed forces in late 2001.

Since then, US and Pakistani officials have regularly said they believe he is hiding somewhere on the rugged border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

High-ranking diplomats in Islamabad have also doubted the French regional newspaper's report.

The last videotaped message released by bin Laden was in late 2004.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf held a joint news conference with US President George Bush in Washington on Friday in which the two leaders said their countries were continuing to cooperate closely in the hunt for bin Laden.