The CIA's torture programme did not help find Osama bin Laden, a Senate investigation has concluded.
A Senate investigation concluded water boarding and other harsh interrogation methods did not provide key evidence in the hunt for Osama, congressional aides and outside experts familiar with a still-secret, 6,200-page report, said.
According to the Washington Times, the finding could deepen rift between lawmakers and the CIA.
The CIA disputes the conclusion and already is having dispute with the Senate intelligence committee amid dueling charges of snooping and competing criminal referrals to the Justice Department, the report said.
Sources said that the 'harsh interrogation techniques' the CIA used with high-level terror suspects did not provide the key evidence that led to Osama, contrary to what former Bush administration and CIA officials have claimed in the past.
According to the report, but Democratic and some Republican senators have called that account misleading, saying simulated drownings known as waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other such practices were cruel and ineffective.
Without providing full details, aides said the Senate report illustrates the importance of the National Security Agency's efforts overseas.