US used Red Cross medical supplies to track down Osama bin Laden

Karachi: The United States reportedly hid tracking devices in medical supplies, possibly through Red Cross hospitals, in order to track Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to documents leaked by former security contractor Edward Snowden.

The Intercept cited a National Security Agency slide presentation dated June 2010 which focused on the possibility of going from "Pharma to Target" by penetrating "the non-electronic moat" that shielded the Al Qaeda leader from surveillance in his Abbottabad hideout, reports the Dawn.

However, it remains unclear if the idea was acted upon.

The CIA tracked down Laden through his courier to Abbottabad and later, he was killed in a secret operation by the U.S. Special Forces on May 2, 2011.