Osama was worried about Al-Qaeda's state: Report

In the final months of his life, Osama bin Laden was concerned about mounting problems facing Al-Qaeda and making a concerted effort to rebuild the terror network, The Washington Post reported. -- PHOTO: AP

WASHINGTON - IN THE final months of his life, Osama bin Laden was concerned about mounting problems facing Al-Qaeda and making a concerted effort to rebuild the terror network, The Washington Post reported on Saturday.

Citing unnamed US officials who have completed a review of the trove of files collected at Osama's compound in Pakistan, the newspaper said the Al-Qaeda leader was receiving e-mails from followers lamenting the toll being taken from CIA drone attacks and the network's financial plight.

The documents were seized during a daring US commando raid in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in May, in which both Osama and his courier were killed.

According to The Post, before his death, Osama approved the creation of a counter-intelligence unit to root out traitors and spies and received a complaint from the unit's leader that it was losing the 'espionage war' and couldn't function on its small budget.

Osama warned affiliates in Yemen and elsewhere that it was too soon to create an Islamic state, the report said.

The Al-Qaeda leader concluded that there wasn't 'enough steel' in the group's regional support structures to warrant even tentative steps toward re-establishing the caliphate, the paper noted. -- AFP