Bin Laden's last words to his children: I'm sorry
More stories:
In a will written three months after the attacks of September 11, Osama bin Laden told his children not to join al-Qaeda and apologised for neglecting them.
The four-page document, Kuwaiti newspaper, makes no mention of any possessions but spends most of its time justifying bin Laden's holy war against the US and Israel.
The Will also orders his wives not to marry, and focus on raising his 24 children, the Daily Mail reported.
"Don't consider marrying again, and devote yourselves to your children and guide them to the right path," the will states.
To his children, he cites a precedent in the Islamic texts to tell them not to fight in Jihad. He refers to a passage where Omar bin al-Khattab, the next Islamic leader after the prophet Mohammad, also wrote to his son, Abdulla, not to engage in holy war.
"You, my children, I apologise for giving you so little of my time because I responded to the need for Jihad," the will states.
Should the US release a photo of Osama bin Laden to prove he is dead?
There is no mention of any money - bin Laden is believed to have inherited $27.6 million from his father, who was a construction magnate in Saudi Arabia.
The Kuwaiti newspaper says the will was dated December 14, 2001, and is signed "Your brother Abu Abdullah Osama Muhammad Bin Laden".
US officials were intercepting radio transmissions up until that date from bin Laden in Tora Bora, the caves on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border where he was hiding after the devastating attacks of September 11.
The Washington Post reported that a version of the will was being passed around Arab circles in 2002, but al-Qaeda had claimed the document was a fake.
Intelligence officials at the time were taking the will seriously.
