U.S. may have killed Bin Laden son

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- One of Osama bin Laden's sons was killed by a U.S. drone-fired missile in Pakistan this year, U.S. officials say.

National Public Radio reported Wednesday a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said U.S. spy agencies were "80 to 85 percent" sure Saad bin Laden was killed by Hellfire missiles fired from a Predator drone sometime this year. The younger bin Laden's death could not be confirmed through DNA testing, however, without the body, the official said.

Saad bin Laden, said to be in his late 20s, was not a major player in the al-Qaida network guided by his father and happened to be "in the wrong place at the wrong time," the official said.

"We make a big deal out of him because of his last name," the official added.

His father's whereabouts is unknown.

Former National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell said the son of the al-Qaida terrorist group leader spent several years under house arrest in Iran before traveling last year to Pakistan.