Details emerge about men close to al-Qaida chief

ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan - A doctor who sold a piece of the land where Osama bin Laden's final hideout was built said the buyer, a Pakistani who apparently sheltered the al-Qaida chief, was a "modest, humble" man who did not seem to be a militant.

As Pakistan sought to counter suspicions it had been harboring bin Laden, details emerged on Wednesday about the small group of men who looked after the al-Qaida chief in this northwestern town before he was killed by US commandos.

Chief among them was a man known as Arshad Khan, who neighbors said was one of two Pakistani men living in the house. Property records obtained by The Associated Press show Mohammad Arshad bought adjoining plots in four stages between 2004 and 2005 for $48,000. The two appear to be the same person, and the names may be fake.