Riyadh:
Osama bin Laden's Yemeni widow has received assurances from Saudi officials that she and her children can remain in the kingdom, a relative said on Friday.
The relative, speaking from Yemen, said Amal Ahmed Abdel-Fatah al-Sada plans to stay in Saudi Arabia with her five children rather than return to her impoverished homeland. The relative said the bin Laden family will provide a home and living expenses.
The bin Laden family, which includes dozens of siblings of Osama, is one of the most prominent in Saudi Arabia, with close ties to the royal family and a fortune rooted in a construction business started by Osama's father. The family largely distanced itself from the late Al Qaeda leader years ago.
Al-Sada's relative spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Al-Sada and two other bin Laden widows, identified as Saudi nationals, as well as other family members were flown out of Pakistan on Friday following weeks of negotiations over the deportations. The possible future plans for the Saudi widows and their families were not immediately known.
Saudi Arabia stripped bin Laden of his citizenship in 1994 because of his denunciations of the Saudi royal family, and there have been questions about whether the kingdom would accept his widows and children.
Saudi officials have made no public comment on the deportations, which were carried out less than a week before the one-year mark since bin Laden's death in a raid by Navy SEALs on his Pakistan compound.