London, May 11 : Captured wives of Osama bin Laden have told Pakistani interrogators that one of Bin Laden's sons has not been seen since the night of the raid, ABC News reported.
Hamza bin Laden was widely seen as his father's heir. He had been implicated in the murder of Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto.
Pakistani security officials have revealed that Hamza bin Laden went missing since the night US Special Forces raided the mansion in Abbottabad.
They fear he could be Bin Laden's youngest son, 19-year-old Hamza, who has been dubbed the 'Crown Prince of Terror'.
Three of Bin Laden's wives and several of his children were taken into custody by Pakistani intelligence forces after the raid - but now it appears one of his sons may have evaded capture.
The revelation came as fascinating new details emerged of the U.S. assault force dispatched to find Osama Bin Laden, including the president's insistence that it had to be large enough to fight off hostile Pakistani soldiers if need be.
News of Hamza's apparent escape emerged during the interrogation of Bin Laden's three wives by Pakistani investigators.
Officials told ABC News the women had revealed one of the terror leader's sons had not been seen since the raid - but the source did not confirm which one.
Another son, 22-year-old Khalid, was confirmed dead by the U.S. military. He is believed to have been one of the men shown in graphic photos taken in the aftermath of the raid and released to Reuters last week.
Initially, the White House said Hamza was presumed dead, too, although it was not known for certain whether he was inside the compound when U.S. Navy SEALs struck.
Bin Laden shared the squalid three-storey compound with two other families:
Sheikh Abu Ahmed, known as Arshad Khan : Khan, Bin Laden's trusted courier, lived there with his wife and children, believed to be aged three and four. Khan was killed in the raid, as was a woman believed to be his wife.
'Tariq': Little is known about this man, but locals believed he was Khan's brother. He also moved his wife and children into the compound, and was shot in the attack.
The Bin Ladens: Bin Laden shared the top two floors with three of his wives and an unknown number of his younger children. Both he and his son Khalid were shot dead by U.S. special forces.
Pakistani officials say they are holding Bin Laden's three widows, and eight or nine children belonging to all three men.
But according to ABC his mother is among the three widows being held by Pakistan intelligence. She is thought to be Khairiah Sabar, who married Bin Laden in 1985.
Bin Laden's youngest wife, Yemeni Amal al-Sadah, was shot in the leg as she charged at U.S. forces when they stormed the compound.
All three women are due to be interrogated by U.S. agents soon, after days of wrangling with Pakistani officials who have been interviewing the widows themselves.
Pakistani investigators agreed it appeared someone was missing from the squalid lair where Bin Laden was shot dead on Sunday.
The terror mastermind shared the hideout with three of his five wives and several of his younger children, including his 12-year-old daughter, Safiyah.
According to Pakistani officials, the girl watched her father die and described how she saw his bloody body being hoisted into a U.S. helicopter.
Pakistani authorities say they are holding eight or nine children who were found there after the U.S. commandos left, some of whom were related to Bin Laden's courier, who was also killed in the raid.
Altogether, Pakistani officials say they captured 17 people left behind in the compound after U.S. forces left.
They are thought to include the wife of 'Tariq', believed to be the brother of Bin Laden's trusted courier, Sheikh Abu Ahmed.
Bin Laden's youngest son, Hamza, has in the past been dubbed as the Crown Prince of Terror and was widely-tipped to succeed his father.
He has made at least two appearances in Bin Laden's propaganda videos.
In one, released in 2001 and made at the wedding of his brother Mohammed, Hamza wore combat dress and read a poem dedicated to his father's exploits.
One passage went: ‘I'm warning America that its people will face terrible results if they chase my father. Fighting Americans is the basis for faith.'
In 2005, when he was 15, he featured in a jihadist film shot in a Pakistani tribal area on the Afghan border.
He held a semi-automatic assault rifle and was said to have just taken part in a battle against Pakistani security forces.
His voice also appeared in a video released on the third anniversary of London's 7/7 bombings, calling for the destruction of the U.S., Britain, France and Denmark.
