Bin Laden son says his family doesn't deserve forced separation

LONDON: A son of Osama bin Laden says he is working with Saudi Arabia and Iran to end his separation from a group of brothers and sisters that dates back to the chaos in Afghanistan following the Sept 11 attacks against the United States.

Omar bin Laden said bin Laden's children were trying to be "good citizens of the world" but suffered from the lack of a father and the stigma of being their father's offspring. None were part of Al- Qaida, he said.

"We are working with the Iranian government and with the Saudi government at the moment to have my mother's children and grandchildren join us," Omar bin Laden said by e-mail.