Saudi Arabia, the country of Osama bin Laden's birth, hopes his killing will help the international fight against terrorism and stamp out the 'misguided thought' behind it, the Saudi state news agency said on Monday.

'An official source expressed the hope of the kingdom that the elimination of leader of the terrorist Al Qaeda organisation would be a step towards supporting international efforts aimed at fighting terrorism,' the news agency said.

It added that Riyadh hoped the move would also help break up al Qaeda cells and stamp out the misguided thought that is behind militancy.-Reuters