Bin Laden Kids Under House Arrest in Tehran

A 17-year-old daughter of Osama bin Laden has escaped from house arrest in Iran and is being assisted by the Saudi embassy there. Statements by a Saudi diplomat and bin Laden’s son, Omar, to Saudi paper Asharq Al-Awsat appear to clear up what has long been a murky situation with regard to some missing members of bin Laden’s brood. Omar says that his sister Iman, four other siblings, and a stepmother have been held in Iran since the 9/11 attacks.

He says they were originally held for their own protection, but now “there are several places where they wish to move so as to be with their families and mothers.” The Saudi official confirms that Iman has been in their embassy in Tehran for almost a month, and may be repatriated to Saudi Arabia or Syria. Omar also says another brother, Saad bin Laden, who was supposedly killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan last year, is alive and well in Tehran. (More Osama bin Laden stories.)