French newspaper says Saudis believe bin Laden dead

A French newspaper published what it said was a report by the country's intelligence services that said Saudi Arabia believes Osama bin Laden died of typhoid in Pakistan this month.

France's foreign intelligence service, the DGSE, refused to confirm the substance of the report, and no immediate official reaction was forthcoming from Saudi officials Saturday.

But European and Pakistani officials tracking bin Laden's whereabouts told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that the report could not be seen as reliable.