Pakistan was not told about bin Laden operation

WASHINGTON, Monday

The United States did not notify Pakistani allies about its operation against Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a senior US administration official said Monday.

"We shared this intelligence on the compound with no other country, including Pakistan," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

The need to maintain the complete secrecy about the covert operation was cited as the chief reason for not sharing the information with Islamabad.

But in announcing the news of bin Laden's death, US President Barack Obama credited Islamabad's cooperation with helping US forces to pinpoint bin Laden's whereabouts after a years-long manhunt.