Did Osama Bin Laden sneak out of hiding for midnight feast in tribal Pakistan?

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Two men claim they played host to the Al Qaeda leader after a huge convoy of 4x4s rolled into their village
American and Pakistani authorities insist he never left his compound in the years before U.S. special forces hunted him down

Published: 15:41 EST, 2 May 2012 | Updated: 18:52 EST, 2 May 2012

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When Osama Bin Laden was shot dead a year ago, the official line was that he had spent almost five years hiding in total isolation.

After the Al Qaeda leader was at long last rooted out, American and Pakistani authorities insisted he had never once left the Abbottabad compound stormed by U.S. special forces.

Now, however, two men have revealed to BBC News the remarkable story of the night they hosted the world's most wanted man for dinner.

Guest of honour: Two tribesmen have claimed they met Osama Bin Laden in summer 2010 when a convoy of 4x4s brought him to their village in northwest Pakistan

In the dead of night in summer 2010 - a year before Bin Laden was killed - a handful of tribesmen waited in the Waziristan region of north-west Pakistan.

Weeks earlier, an unnamed 'important person' had told them to expect the visit. Their guest's name was kept secret, the hosts were not told why he was coming, and only learned the timing of his arrival with just a few hours to go.

At about 11pm, a convoy of 4x4s thundered into sight.

One of the tribal elders told the BBC: 'A dozen big four-wheel drive vehicles drove into the compound. They seemed to converge from different directions.'

One of the vehicles pulled up to the building's veranda and, to the hosts' astonishment, a tall man dressed in robes and a white turban climbed down from the back seat.

They could scarcely believe the man before them was Osama Bin Laden, as the terrorist figurehead stood by the car shaking hands.

The elder told how he kissed the guest's hand and pressed it to his eyes, a customary show of respect, before two assistants led Bin Laden away to the room the villagers had set up for him.

Unruly: Pakistan's tribal north-east, supposedly the site of the secret meeting, has been described as one of the most dangerous places on Earth

So shrouded in secrecy was this meeting, it was not until the earth-shaking event of Bin Laden's assassination that one of the hosts was shocked into revealing it had ever taken place.

Even with the Al Qaeda leader long dead, the two tribesmen who spoke out about the dinner did so only on condition of anonymity and the promise that the exact location of the meeting would not be revealed. Nor would they identify the man who arranged it, or any of Bin Laden's sizeable entourage.

Bin Laden spent three hours with the men, in a settlement about 180 miles from the Pakistani garrison town where he would meet his bloody fate. During that time, they said, the feared jihadi offered prayers, rested and ate a meal of lamb chops, chicken curry and rice.

Turbulent: Pakistani army soldiers take position in South Waziristan, near the border with Afghanistan. Bin Laden would have had to pass under the noses of such patrols to reach his supposed hosts

Security was strict throughout, with armed men guarding the compound's gate, roof and along the walls - barring any of the hosts from leaving.

The guards were wary when one of the hosts asked that his elderly father be allowed to meet the notorious Bin Laden, pleading that it was the 85-year-old's dying wish.

Bin Laden said he would grant the old man's wish, and four armed henchmen marched the son home to fetch his father - who was not told whom he was meeting until they were safely inside the compound.

The two tribesmen recalled how they and their guests smiled knowningly as the old man spoke for 10 minutes, passing on tips on tribal warfare and lavishing praise on the infamous guest - none of which Bin Laden understood, as it was spoken in the man's native Pashto language.

When the time came for the Al Qaeda chief and his men to leave, they did so just as they had arrived, apparently scattering in several directions to leave no clue as to where Bin Laden's car was headed.

This mysterious event leaves much unexplained. Pakistan's tribal north west is a region of continuing unrest, and at the time the country's forces would have been on high alert, with a gauntlet checkpoints set up to monitor traffic and crack down on militants.

If the tribesmen's tale is to be believed - and especially if other such visits come to light - it will surely cast doubt on the Pakistani authorities' claims that they did all they could to bring Bin Laden to justice.