Was there a mole inside Bin Laden's hideout helping the Navy SEALs? The secret 'pocket guide' that may prove Al Qaeda leader was betrayed from within

Updated: 15:58 BST, 22 May 2011

An in-depth pocket guide to Osama Bin Laden's hideout that was used by U.S. Navy Seals suggests a mole was living alongside the terror leader, it emerged today.

The colour guide was dropped by one of the special forces soldiers when they raided the home in Abottabad, northwestern Pakistan on May 1.

It features an unseen picture of Bin Laden's Yemeni wife, Amal, and two of his son, Khalid, alongside detailed descriptions.

Mole: Bin Laden is described in the guide as 'always' wearing light coloured clothing. Details about his wife, Amal, and two possible twins are included

The document suggests that Bin Laden, 54, lived in the hideout with three wives. There were only two other men in the house, alongside Bin Laden's children and grandchildren.

The book also points to two 'unidentified children' that may have been twins fathered by Bin Laden with Amal.

The emergence of the guide raises new questions about how the U.S. gathered intelligence on the Al Qaeda leader.

'In my experience of years as an intelligence office, I think someone from the inside may have given information,' Rahman Malik, the interior minister and former head of Pakistan's Federal Information agency told the Sunday Times.

Targeted: Bin Laden's youngest son, Hamza, is listed in the guide but may have escaped during the raid on the compound

'If the Americans didn't have definite information, they couldn't have gone straight straight to the room where Bin Laden was.'

U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged that the raid on Bin Laden's compound had been a 'calculated risk' that could have ended very differently.  

The president said that even with months of intelligence work, the odds bin Laden was in the compound were only about 55-45.

U.S. officials monitored the progress of the raid from the White House on cameras mounted on helmets of the Seals.

The troops planned to abseil onto the roof of the compound from a hovering helicopter while other soldiers filed in from the ground.

But one chopper crashed in the grounds after it clipped a security wall. It is understood that the guide was then dropped.

The document, which features only the second known photograph of the wife apart from her passport image, was gathered up from the wreckage.

On the first page are pictures of Bin Laden, Amal, and two images of his son Khalid - one original and one computer-enhanced picture of how he might have aged. On the other side is a picture of the courier Arshad Khan and a description of his brother, another courier.

Mission: Navy Seals abseil from a U.S helicopter. It is believed that the guide book was dropped when one of the choppers clipped a wall and crashed

Secure: Experts believe there may have been a mole inside Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, northwestern Pakistan to provide such detailed information

The first page details even the clothing that Bin Laden was expected to have been wearing.

'Always wears light coloured shawal kameez with a dark vest,' it states. 'Occasionally wears a light coloured prayer cap.'

The document describes Bin Laden as between 6'4'' and 6'6'' tall. Hi alias is listed as 'Shaykh' with brown hair and brown eyes.

The wives are listed in order of importance to Bin Laden. Amal tops the list with details of a nine-year-old daughter, Safiyah, and two unidentified children who are believed to be twins.

Amal is followed by second wife Siham, 54, including her son Khalid, 23, daughters Miriam, 20, and Sumaya, 16.

Third wife Khayriya, 62, is listed alongisde son Hamza, 21, his wife Maryam, son Usama, four, and daughter Khayriya, one. It states that the third wife and her son were released from Iranian custody in July 2010.

Such detailed information about Bin Laden's clothes would have been difficult to collect from satellites images as he lived behind high walls.

Following the raid, Bin Laden's two elder wives have accused Amal of betraying the terror leader by leaking information.

The two Saudi women also suggest that she may have been tracked by U.S. forces to Abbottabad.

U.S. officials denied they had used a mole and insisted that their intelligence gathering had helped to produce the book.

They said that a CIA safe house that was set up nearby and satellite images from drones were used to monitor the compound.  Agents were also gathering information on the ground.

A CIA official said that a 'false or partial narrative' may have been given about how Bin Laden was found as 'protecting source and method is very important'.

The presence of Bin Laden in such a busy town has led the U.S. to suggest that sources from within Pakistan may have helped to shelter the terrorist.