Headlines
Three family members of bin Laden killed in UK plane crash
London, Aug 1
Three family members of former
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden were killed when a private jet crashed
in Britain's Hampshire county, a media report said on Saturday.
The
victims included Laden's stepmother Rajaa Hashim and sister Sana,
reported The Telegraph citing sources. Laden's brother-in-law Zuhair
Hashim is also believed to be among the dead. The pilot, who was
reported to be Jordanian, was also killed.
The jet, inbound from
the Italian city of Milan, crashed near Blackbushe Airport, Yateley, a
suburban town in Hampshire, on Friday killing the pilot and all the
three passengers.
The deaths of members of the prominent Saudi
business clan and relatives of Laden, who masterminded the 2001
September 11 (9/11) attack on the US, in which nearly 3,000 people were
killed and who was later killed by US special forces in Pakistan - was
confirmed on microblogging site Twitter by Saudi ambassador to Britain
Prince Mohammed-bin-Nawaf Al Saud.
"His Royal Highness Prince
Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz, the ambassador of the Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques to the United Kingdom, offered his condolences to
the sons of the late Mohammed bin Laden and their relations for the
grave incident of the crash of the plane carrying members of the family
at Blackbushe airport," he tweeted.
The Saudi embassy added that
it was working with the British authorities to ensure speedy hand over
of the bodies for funerals and burials in Saudi Arabia.
Witnesses at the scene said there had been a "ball of flames" and "several explosions".
However, no one on the ground was injured, Hampshire Police said.