US: No evidence Pakistani leadership knew of bin Laden's hideout

May 8, 2011, 18:23 GMT

Washington - The US has no evidence that Pakistan's leaders were aware of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts in a city not far from the capital Islamabad, White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said Sunday.

Since the al-Qaeda leader was killed by US forces in a raid on his compound in Abbottabad early Monday, speculation has swirled about what Pakistani officials knew.

'At this point I can tell you directly that I've not seen evidence that would tell us that the political, the military or the intelligence leadership would have foreknowledge of bin Laden,' Donilon said on broadcaster NBC.

But he stressed there must be an investigation into how it was possible that bin Laden was living in a compound barely 100 metres from a military academy and less than 60 kilometres from Islamabad.

'The Pakistanis have said they're going to investigate it,' he said. 'This is a very big issue in Pakistan right now. How could this have happened in Pakistan? We need to investigate it, we need to work with the Pakistanis and we're pressing the Pakistanis on this.'

On Saturday, the US released five videos of bin Laden that were seized in the raid, including images of an old-looking leader watching himself on television.

Donilon praised the information obtained during the raid, calling it 'the largest cache of intelligence derived from the scene of any single terrorist.'

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