Bin Laden's family of twelve kicked out of Pakistan just days before the first anniversary of his death

Bin Laden's family of twelve kicked out of Pakistan just days before the first anniversary of his death

• Three widows, eight children and a grandchild put on plane at dawn
• Family put into van shortly after midnight and taken to airport
• They are deported days before anniversary of Bin Laden's death on May 2

By David Gardner

PUBLISHED: 15:25 EST, 26 April 2012 | UPDATED: 04:16 EST, 27 April 2012

Osama Bin Laden’s family were kicked out of Pakistan in the early hours of today â€" just days before the first anniversary of the terror mastermind’s death.

The slain Al Qaeda leader’s three widows, their eight children and one grandchild were flown to Saudi Arabia.

A Pakistani judge ordered earlier this month that the women be deported to their countries of citizenship after serving a six month sentence for illegally entering the country.

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Deported: Amal Ahmed Abdul Fateh, from Yemen (pictured), is one of Osama Bin Laden's three widows who was flown out of Pakistan shortly after midnight

Protection: Police officers escort a vehicle carrying the family of Osama Bin Laden, in Islamabad, Pakistan in the early hours of the morning as they make their way to the airport for deportation

The widows â€" Amal Ahmed Abdul Fateh, Khairiah Sabar and Siham Sabar â€" have all been in custody with their children since the pre-dawn May 2 Navy SEAL raid last year on Bin Laden’s hideaway compound in Abbottabad.

Fateh, Bin Laden’s youngest widow, is expected to travel on to her native Yemen with her four children.

The first sign that the family was departing came when a bus arrived at the home where they were being held under house arrest in Islamabad to take them to the airport.

It was covered with a big cloth to hide them from the media.

A special plane was flown in from Saudi Arabia to pick them up under tight security.

A statement from the Interior Ministry said 14 members of the Bin Laden family had been deported to the 'country of their choice, Saudi Arabia'.

All aboard: Pakistani security officials cover the windscreen of the bus as Bin Laden's family get on board and are driven to the airport

Saudi officials relented after initially refusing to take the family.

The widows and two older daughters, aged 17 and 21, pleaded guilty to impersonation, illegal entry into Pakistan and staying in the country illegally.

Fateh told Pakistani investigators that Bin Laden spent years on the run in Pakistan after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, moving from one safe house to another and fathering four children.

The departure of the family closed another chapter in an affair that cemented Pakistan's reputation as a hub of Islamist extremism and cast doubt on its trustworthiness as a Western ally.

In February, authorities bulldozed the large compound where Bin Laden had lived in the north-western garrison town of Abbottabad.

Going: A vehicle carrying the Bin Laden family leaves for the airport shortly after midnight - almost exactly a year after the terror leader was shot dead by U.S. Navy Seals

Media scrum: The Bin Laden family are driven away from the property with a cloth covering the back of the vehicle to keep them hidden

The U.S. commandos took Bin Laden's body, which they later buried at sea, but left his family behind.

It is unclear whether Pakistan gave U.S. intelligence officials any access to the wives, who are likely to have information about how Bin Laden managed to evade capture in Pakistan for nearly a decade following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States.

The Pakistani government has denied knowing the terrorist leader's whereabouts.

Saudi officials have given little information about the family and the plan to deport them.

At home with the Bin Ladens: The family in their property while they wait for deportation

Makeshift: The beds in the building where they were living were propped up with bricks, and the building appears to be windowless or have the windows barred

Inside the 'home' of Osama's family: One of the widows reads from the Koran as a toddler looks on

The country stripped bin Laden of his citizenship in 1994 because of his verbal attacks against the Saudi royal family, and there have been questions about whether the country would accept the women.

Pakistani officials were outraged that the U.S. did not tell them about the operation against Bin Laden until after it happened - a decision American officials explained by saying they were worried the information would be leaked.

Relations between the two countries plummeted after the raid, and have yet to recover.

A boy, believed to be one of Osama's grandchildren, eats a snack while he and his family wait to be put back on their plane to Saudi Arabia

High security: Pakistani police commandos guard the house where the Bin Laden family were living after they had departed

Bin Laden's lair: The Abbottabad compound where the terror leader was living with his family is bulldozed earlier this year

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