Bin Laden's son in plea for family's release

A SON of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has said he hopes Qatar's diplomacy would help win the release of his family members trapped in Iran.

In an interview, Omar bin Laden said he hoped the Gulf Arab state would intervene on behalf of siblings who fled to Iran during the 2001 US bombing of Afghanistan and have since lived there under house arrest.

"We have been dealing with the Qatari government. They have been very helpful and working very much on it. They have given a lot of help to other countries in the world, and we hope they can help us," he said.

Several of Osama bin Laden's children with his first wife Najwa fled to Iran in 2001, including Othman, aged about 27, Fatima, about 22, and Hamza, a son of Osama and his third wife, Khairiyah, along with Khairiyah herself.

Omar's sister Iman, about 17, was released three months ago after she took refuge at the Saudi embassy in Tehran and is now in Syria, he said. The others live in a Tehran compound and cannot leave or make calls without permission, Mr bin Laden said.

"They have done nothing wrong, none of them," he said.

Mr bin Laden, who lives in Qatar, said he believed his family had a better chance of being released if they planned to go to a country other than Saudi Arabia.

"Iran has a problem with Saudi Arabia. They don't want (the family] to go back home. That's why I am asking for Qatar's help, for Syria's help," he said. "They want to come here, or to Syria, or to any country in the world that would accept them."

Relations between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and non-Arab, Shia Iran have been marked by regional rivalry and mutual mistrust due to sectarian tensions and Tehran's nuclear plans.

Qatar has sought to carve out a role as a regional powerbroker, particularly in its efforts to engage Iran.