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"One of the women who spoke a smattering of English said they had moved to the compound a few months ago. But we would want to know how did they come to this place," an unnamed senior Pakistani security official was quoted as saying by the Dawn daily.
It said the elite United States Navy SEALs commandos took away only bin Laden's body, leaving behind a number of women and children in the compound located in the garrison city of Abbottabad in northwest Pakistan. Bin Laden's two wives, both in their early 50s and one of them of Yemeni origin, were among those left behind in the complex which is just yards away from the Pakistan military academy.
A third woman, wounded in the attack, was taken to a military hospital. Another official said a total of nine boys and girls, aged between two and 12 years, were seized in the compound including bin Laden's 11-year-old daughter. The women and children are in the custody of Pakistani security agencies.
A senior security official said they would be interrogated. "We would want to know the whole story. How and when did the entire band come to this part of the region? Where was bin Laden all these years? And was he actually there when the assault took place? There are a whole set of questions which need to be answered," the security official said.