Sheikh Rashad, who was one of Bin Laden's closest aides and at that point based in Afghanistan, said the Al Qaeda leader had been very specific about his requirements for his fifth wife.

'She must be pious, dutiful, young, well mannered, from a decent family, but above all patient. She will have to endure my exceptional circumstances,' Rashad recounted to The Guardian.

He quickly decided to approach the family of Amal, who were from his home town of Ibb, in the south-west of Yemen.

The girl, who Rashad descrbed as a 'perfect match', accepted the proposal and the family was sent a dowry of $5,000 by Bin Laden.