Washington:
In indications that Osama bin Laden was prepared to flee at short notice, cash totalling 500 euros and two telephone numbers were found sewn into his clothing when he was killed by US commandos deep inside Pakistan on Sunday.
US media reported that this information was given by top intelligence officials to members of the Congress at a classified briefing at which CIA Director Leon Panetta was present.
Another US media report said the American troops that swooped on bin Laden's compound at Abbottabad in Pakistan, may have laid their hands on the "largest potential intelligence coup of the post-9/11 era."
The Navy SEALS, which conducted the 40-minute operation, carried off five computers, 10 hard drives and more than 100 storage devices and removable flash drives, the Wall Street Journal said quoting US officials.
A Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) task force, which has already conducted a preliminary analysis of the material, is hunting for leads on the location of the slain Al-Qaeda leader's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is widely expected to take over as Al-Qaeda's chief.
US publication POLITICO reported that CIA chief Leon Panetta, when asked why Osama was not guarded by more security personnel, said bin Laden believed "his network was strong enough and that he'd get a heads-up" before any US strike.
Quoting sources who attended Panetta's briefing, POLITICO reported that the CIA chief told lawmakers about the items found in bin Laden's clothing.
The evidence of cash, which amounts to 740 USD and phone numbers was divulged to support the US Administration's belief that bin Laden was prepared to escape the compound if alerted to an impending attack, the publication quoted a source.
Panetta said yesterday that Pakistani officials were kept deliberately out of the loop by the US in its operation to get bin Laden as it feared they might "alert" the targets and "jeopardise" the mission.
The US Administration's belief on bin Laden's escape plans may also be buttressed by White House's revelation that the 9/11 mastermind was not armed when he was killed in the raid by the Navy SEAL team.