Osama bin Laden's mother says her son was 'brainwashed'

The mother of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has spoken publicly about her son for the first time, saying he was a 'good child' growing up but was later 'brainwashed'.

In this 1998 file photo made available on March 19, 2004, Osama bin Laden is seen at a news conference in Khost, Afghanistan. Source: AP Photo/Mazhar Ali Khan, File

The mother of Osama Bin Laden, the architect of 9/11 terrorist attacks, has spoken publicly about her son for the first time.  

In an interview with British newspaper the Guardian, Alia Ghanem described him as a "shy boy who was academically capable".

Speaking from the family's mansion in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Ms Ghanem said her son was brainwashed in his early twenties.

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