$25M bin Laden reward won't be given

WASHINGTON, May 19 (UPI) -- The United States will not pay the $25 million reward for the capture of Osama bin Laden, officials say, because no human informants contributed to finding him.

Citing a senior U.S. official, ABC News reported Thursday the determination not to pay the reward was based on the fact that the May 2 raid in which the al-Qaida leader was killed in Pakistan resulted from electronic intelligence.

"We do not expect a reward to be paid," a senior U.S. official familiar with the search for bin Laden said.

The $25 million reward was being offered through the federal Rewards for Justice program.

Officials ABC said were involved in or knowledgeable about the search, said no informant came forward to cooperate with the CIA or military officials in the hunt for bin Laden -- who was located as a result of a mistake by one of his associates, combined with electronic surveillance.

Informants have collected millions of dollars in rewards for information used in the search for Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, ABC reported.