Washington, May 4
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 on Wednesday that top intelligence officials gave this information 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 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.

The evidence of cash, which amounts to $740 and phone numbers, was divulged to support the US Administration's belief that Laden was prepared to escape the compound if alerted to an impending attack, the publication quoted a source.

THE world will probably never find out which Navy Seal Team Six member fired the shot that killed Osama, but that has not stopped the public from wondering who this person is. Toasts are being raised to someone people may never know by name, but who could easily be their neighbour. Members of Team Six are never identified, according to standard procedure.

So what do we know about what “he” is like? We know the shooter is male, because all Seals are men. He's probably about 30-years-old, with a bachelors and possibly a masters degree. He is most likely white and may have a wife and children.

The Seal who delivered that deadly shot is no doubt in perfect physical shape. But he is also most likely hiding beneath a slightly disheveled exterior. He probably uses "modified grooming standards", including a beard and longer hair designed to help him blend in when in Pakistan and Afghanistan!

"If you've never met a Seal and you ran into one at a bar, you probably still wouldn't know he's one," said former Seal member Howard Wasdin. — Agencies