ISLAMABAD, April 26: Pakistani authorities deported Osama bin Laden’s three widows and children to Saudi Arabia early on Friday, less than a week before the first anniversary of the unilateral American raid that killed the Al Qaeda leader in his hideout in Abbottabad.

Two of the widows are from Saudi Arabia, and the third is from Yemen.

They were interrogated by Pakistani intelligence agents and eventually charged last month with illegally entering and living in the country. The three wives and two adult daughters were convicted and sentenced to 45 days in prison. Their prison term, which was spent at a well-guarded house in Islamabad, ended earlier this month.

Soon after midnight on Thursday, a van took the women and children from the house in the centre of Islamabad, en route to the airport. Officials covered the vehicle with sheets to prevent photographers from taking their pictures.

A statement from the Interior Ministry said 14 members of the Bin Laden family had been deported to the “country of their choice, Saudi Arabia”.

Few details have been released about the family, but officials have said Bin Laden had three wives, at least eight children and some grandchildren living with him in the house when it was raided by the Americans.—AP