ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) – One of Osama bin Laden’s  sons was probably killed by a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan  earlier this year, U.S. National Public Radio reported, citing  U.S. intelligence sources.

A U.S. counterterrorism official told Reuters yesterday that Sa’ad bin Laden may be dead, “but it’s not 100  percent certain.” He described the son of the al Qaeda leader  as “a small player with a big name.”

It was unknown whether Sa’ad bin Laden, who was in his  twenties, was anywhere near his father when he died, NPR said.  A U.S. intelligence official said in January that the younger  bin Laden had been freed from custody in Iran and had probably  gone to Pakistan.

“There have been reports (of his death), but none of them  has been confirmed or verified,” a senior Pakistani security  official told Reuters.

The United States believes Osama bin Laden is hiding in  Pakistan. Intelligence agencies have had near misses tracking  his deputy Ayman al Zawahri in Pakistan, but the hunt for bin  Laden went cold several years ago.

While al Qaeda often releases audiotaped messages from bin  Laden, the last videotape released was two years ago, and there  is constant speculation that he might have died.

A spokesman for the Taliban in the Swat valley, where the  Pakistani army launched an offensive three months ago, phoned  Reuters to deny a report by the military that it had probably  wounded Taliban commander Fazlullah in an air strike.