Omar bin Laden asks Spain for asylum

MADRID, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Omar bin Laden, son of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, was seeking asylum Tuesday in Spain, officials said.

Omar bin Laden got off a Morocco-bound airliner at the Madrid airport and told immigration officials he wanted to stay in the country under a grant of asylum, CNN reported.

It wasn't immediately clear what grounds bin Laden gave as the basis of his asylum request. Omar bin Laden has publicly denounced his father's terrorist activities, but was previously denied an asylum request by Britain. He holds a Saudi Arabian passport, the broadcaster said.

In an interview with CNN this year, Omar bin Laden, who has been learning to speak English, said, "I try and say to my father: 'Try to find another way to help or find your goal. This bomb, this weapons, it's not good to use it for anybody."

Bin Laden said he has not seen his father since 2000 when he walked away from an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan.