US says it wants access to bin Laden widows

ISLAMABAD -- The United States wants access to three widows of Osama bin Laden being held by Pakistani authorities, something that could help answer questions about whether any officials knew the al-Qaida chief was living in the country, a top American official said.

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The al-Qaida chief was found in a large house close to a military academy in the army town of Abbottabad where he had been living for up to six years. His location raised suspicions that some Pakistani authorities, possibly elements of the powerful army and intelligence services, could have been colluding with him.

U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon told NBC's "Meet the Press" that Washington had seen no evidence that the government was colluding with bin Laden. But he said that Pakistani authorities "need to provide us with intelligence, by the way, from the compound that they've gathered, including access to Osama bin Laden's three wives."

The US demanded access from Pakistan to all non combatants, including Osama bin Laden's three wives, detained by the Pakistani authorities and additional materials recovered from the Abbottabad compound, where the al-Qaeda leader was killed by American forces.

"We need to work with them (Pakistan) on assessing all the evidence out of that compound and all of the evidence associated with Osama bin Laden's presence there for six years. They have in their custody all the noncombatants from the compound, including three wives of Osama bin Laden.

We've asked for access to those folks," the National Security Advisor, Tom Donilon told the ABC news in an interview.