'My son, Osama Bin Laden, was a good child'

Osama Bin Laden. File Pics

The mother of Osama Bin Laden has said her son who was responsible for the 9/11 attack in New York was a "good child" until he was brainwashed at university.

Bin Laden was responsible for ordering the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001 which took the lives of almost 3,000 people including tourists and members of emergency crews.

Another 6,000 people were injured in the attacks which seen two passenger planes hijacked and flown into the towers in lower Manhattan. In a wide ranging interview with the Guardian, Alia Ghanem who is in her mid-70s now, said her son was not to blame but that he was "brainwashed" by extremists while attending university in Saudi city Jeddah.

"Everyone who met him in the early days respected him. At the start, we were very proud of him. Even the Saudi government would treat him in very noble, respectful way. And then came Osama the mujahid," she said.

Bin Laden studied economics at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. Later he regularly got involved with fighting Russian occupation in Afghanistan, something he was commended and respected for by Saudi people.

His half-brothers Hassan and Ahmad were also interviewed after they were given permission from the Saudi government. However, Ahmad admits Osama's mother's views are biased. "It has been 17 years now [since 9/11] and she remains in denial about Osama. She loved him so much and refused to blame him," Ahmad said.

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