One of the al-Qaeda’s leader’s most trusted members of staff, Nasser al-Bahri, disclosed that in August 1998, whilst they were hiding in caves in Afghanistan, bin Laden had handed him a loaded gun. "He told me, 'If ever the Americans encircle me, I absolutely do not want to end my life as a prisoner of the United States. So you will be in charge of killing me,’” he said.
Bin Laden told him: "I would rather receive two bullets in the head than be taken prisoner. I want to die a martyr – but certainly not in prison."
Al-Bahri, 39, who worked for the terror chief for six years, told the Daily Mirror: "When I heard of his death my first thought was that he had got his wish. But I'm glad I did not have to pull the trigger."
The former bodyguard, who helped choose bin Laden’s fourth wife, Amal al-Sadah, in Yemen, revealed intriguing details about the al-Qaeda leader’s lifestyle, telling how he followed Arsenal Football Club, constantly hailing the "beauty" of the team's performances in the 1990s, and also loved volleyball. Al-Bahri said bin Laden, dubbed “the Sheikh” was a voracious reader and often quoted the memoirs of Field Marshal Montgomery and Charles de Gaulle.
He was also obsessed with black stallions. "The Sheikh loved horses," al-Bahri said.
"He would always stop and try to buy one if he saw one he liked along the side of the road. He loved honey too, claiming that it could cure most ailments." He told how bin Laden rose early and prayed before spending his day in meetings and doing paperwork. He said he had once heard that bin Laden complained about not having a satellite TV to watch the September 11 attacks as they unfolded in New York.
Al-Bahri, who was born in Saudi Arabia and now lives in Yemen, was also acquainted with Mohammed Atta, who flew a plane into the World Trade Center on September 11. He was arrested and imprisoned following the al-Qaeda attack on the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden in 2000. He was released in 2002 and is still wanted for questioning in the West.
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