French intel says bin Laden may be dead

PARIS, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A Saudi intelligence source told UPI Saturday al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is "very ill" while a Paris newspaper claimed the terrorist leader is dead.

The French regional daily, l'Est Republicain, said a memo leaked from France's counter-espionage agency says bin Laden died last month of typhoid fever in Pakistan.

No official sources have confirmed the terror leader's death.

"We are not saying he is dead, but there is a lot of truth in the report," the Saudi intelligence source said, adding, "bin Laden was very ill these past few weeks.

"There is no way we can prove that bin Laden is dead until we can see the body," he said, (but) "A good portion of what is in the report is true."