Showing posts with label osama bin laden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label osama bin laden. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Internal emails offer details on Osama bin Laden burial at sea


Osama bin laden, the world's top terrorist, killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan by the elite US Navy Seals Team 6 on May 1st, 2011.



The USS Carl Vinson

WASHINGTON as reported by the Associated Press (AP)— Internal emails among U.S. military officers indicate that no sailors watched Osama bin Laden's burial at sea from the USS Carl Vinson and traditional Islamic procedures were followed during the ceremony.

The emails, obtained by The Associated Press through the Freedom of Information Act, are heavily blacked out, but are the first public disclosure of government information about the al-Qaida leader's death. The emails were released Wednesday by the Defense Department.

Bin Laden was killed on May 1, 2011, by a Navy SEAL team that assaulted his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

One email stamped secret and sent on May 2 by a senior Navy officer briefly describes how bin Laden's body was washed, wrapped in a white sheet, and then placed in a weighted bag.

According to another message from the Vinson's public affairs officer, only a small group of the ship's leadership was informed of the burial.

"Traditional procedures for Islamic burial was followed," the May 2 email from Rear Adm. Charles Gaouette reads. "The deceased's body was washed (ablution) then placed in a white sheet. The body was placed in a weighted bag. A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, whereupon the deceased's body slid into the sea."

The email also included a cryptic reference to the intense secrecy surrounding the mission. "The paucity of documentary evidence in our possession is a reflection of the emphasis placed on operational security during the execution of this phase of the operation," Gaouette's message reads. Recipients of the email included Adm. Mike Mullen, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. James Mattis, the top officer at U.S. Central Command. Mullen retired from the military in September 2011.

Earlier, Gaouette, then the deputy commander of the Navy's Fifth Fleet, and another officer used code words to discuss whether the helicopters carrying the SEALs and bin Laden's body had arrived on the Vinson.

"Any news on the package for us?" he asked Rear Adm. Samuel Perez, commander of the carrier strike group that included the Vinson.

"FEDEX delivered the package," Perez responded. "Both trucks are safely enroute home base."

Although the Obama administration has pledged to be the most transparent in American history, it is keeping a tight hold on materials related to the bin Laden raid. In a response to separate requests from the AP for information about the mission, the Defense Department said in March that it could not locate any photographs or video taken during the raid or showing bin Laden's body. It also said it could not find any images of bin Laden's body on the Vinson.

The Pentagon also said it could not find any death certificate, autopsy report or results of DNA identification tests for bin Laden, or any pre-raid materials discussing how the government planned to dispose of bin Laden's body if he were killed.

The Defense Department also refused to confirm or deny the existence of helicopter maintenance logs and reports about the performance of military gear used in the raid. One of the stealth helicopters that carried the SEALs to Abbottabad crashed during the mission and its wreckage was left behind. People who lived near bin Laden's compound took photos of the disabled chopper.

The AP is appealing the Defense Department's decision. The CIA, which ran the bin Laden raid and has special legal authority to keep information from ever being made public, has not responded to AP's request for records about the mission.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Tahun 2011, 3 musuh utama Amerika Syarikat sudah mati, 2 lagi masih diburu

5 individu dalam gambar dibawah ini adalah musuh ketat dan musuh utama Amerika Syarikat. Pada tahun 2011 ini, 3 daripadanya sudah mati manakala 2 masih hidup dan pasti diburu dengan wang ganjaran berjuta juta dollar kepada pemberi maklumat.

Mari kita tengok siapa mereka.


Osama bin laden adalah orang no.1 Al Qaeda. Dia diburu Amerika Syarikat kerana melancarkan perang dan keganasan ke atas Amerika dan kepentingannya di seluruh dunia. Serangan paling hebat dilancarkan Al Qaedah pada 11 September 2001 dimana 19 pengganas Al Qaeda yang direkrut bin Laden, merampas 4 pesawat komersial lalu menyerang World Trade Centre di New York, Pentagon dan cuba menyerang White House di Washington DC. 3 ribu orang maut pada hari itu.

Osama bin Laden dibunuh tentera elit Navy Seal team 6 pada 2 May 2011 di rumah persembunyiannya di Abbotabad, Pakistan. Usianya 54 tahun.



Pemerintah Libya, Muammar Gaddafi amat dibenci Amerika dan rakannya termasuk Britain kerana dikatakan terlibat dengan keganasan ke atas kepentingan Barat. Ini termasuk pengeboman pesawat Boeing 747 Pan Am di Lockerbie, Scotland yang membunuh 250 penumpang dan anak kapal pada 21 Disember 1988. Pesawat malang itu diletupkan dengan bom oleh agen Libya, ketika dalam perjalanan dari London ke New York. Muammar Gadhafi berusia 69 tahun ketika dibunuh tentera pemberontak pada 20 Oktober 2011 dekat bandar kelahirannya di Sirte. Pemberontakan di Libya disokong NATO dan sekutunya termasuk Perancis dan Britain.



Pemerintah Korea Utara, Kim Jong Il mati akibat serangan sakit jantung ketika usia 69 tahun pada 17 Disember 2011 ketika berada dalam keretapinya. The Dear Leader kelihatan di gambar ini di kanan manakala bapanya yang dikenali The Supreme Leader, Kim Il Sung di kiri. Digeruni Barat kerana mengetuai angkatan Tentera Korea Utara yang dikategorikan tentera ke 4 terbesar di dunia dan mempunyai senjata nuklear. Kim Jong Il digantikan anaknya Kim Jong-Un.



Selepas kematian Osama bin Laden, orang no.2 Al Qaeda, Ayman Al Zawahiri kini menjadi orang no.1 Al Qaeda, dan sehingga kini dia masih hidup dan diburu Amerika dan sekutunya.



Mullah Mohamad Omar ialah pemerintah no.1 Taliban. Sehingga kini kelibatnya tidak diketahui dan dipercayai mengetuai tentangan Taliban ke atas Amerika Syarikat di Afghanistan. Ganjaran sehingga USD 25 juta dollar ditawarkan kepada sesiapa yang memberi maklumat sehingga tertangkapnya Mullah. Ketika pendudukan Soviet Union di Afghanistan, Mullah memusnahkan banyak kereta kebal Soviet dan digelar Singa Taliban.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Inside the raid that killed Osama bin Laden: “Crankshaft,” DEVGRU and a dog named Cairo


The world most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden was killed in a lightining raid by the US Navy Seal on May 2nd, 2011 in his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
















While the whole world knows about the U.S. Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2nd 2011, many of the details of the mission have been shrouded in operational secrecy--until now.

In an astonishingly detailed reconstruction published on Monday 1st August 2011 by the New Yorker, reporter Nicholas Schmidle goes deep inside the planning and execution of the May 1st, 2011 raid.

(As just a sampler, see these few lines: "… Nine years, seven months, and twenty days after September 11th, an American was a trigger pull from ending bin Laden's life. The first round, a 5.56-mm. bullet, struck bin Laden in the chest. As he fell backward, the SEAL fired a second round into his head, just above his left eye. On his radio, he reported, 'For God and country—Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo.' After a pause, he added, 'Geronimo E.K.I.A.'—'enemy killed in action.'"…)

While the whole piece is worth your attention, here are five things we learned from the New Yorker's reconstruction of the raid:

The team: 25 SEALs, a Pakistani-American translator, and a dog named Cairo (why Cairo and not Lassie or Joe??)

According to Schmidle, there were 25 Navy SEALS aboard the two MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters that raided bin Laden's Abbottabad compound. The SEALs were from Team Six, "which is officially known as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or DEVGRU," he writes.

They were accompanied by a Pakistani-American translator (Schmidle gives him the pseudonym "Ahmed"), and a Belgian Malinois dog named Cairo.

"Outside the compound's walls, Ahmed, the translator, patrolled the dirt road in front of bin Laden's house, as if he were a plainclothes Pakistani police officer.

He looked the part, wearing a shalwar kameez atop a flak jacket. He, the dog Cairo, and four SEALs were responsible for closing off the perimeter of the house while James and six other SEALs—the contingent that was supposed to have dropped onto the roof—moved inside."

Bin Laden's code name was 'Crankshaft'

The Abbottabad raid "represented the team's first serious attempt since late 2001 at killing 'Crankshaft'—the target name that the Joint Special Operations Command, or JSOC, had given bin Laden," Schmidle reports.

It was previously reported that "Geronimo" was the code name for bin Laden. But Schmidle adds new details: "Before the mission commenced, the SEALs had created a checklist of code words that had a Native American theme. Each code word represented a different stage of the mission: leaving Jalalabad, entering Pakistan, approaching the compound, and so on. 'Geronimo' was to signify that bin Laden had been found."

Who pulled the trigger on bin Laden.?

On May 6, 2011 "President Obama travelled to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where the 160th is based, to meet the DEVGRU unit and the pilots who pulled off the raid," Schmidle writes.

Using a 3-D model of bin Laden's compound, the SEALs reconstructed the operation for the president and presented him with an American flag that had been on the mission, that they had signed and which read: "From the Joint Task Force Operation Neptune's Spear, 01 May 2011: 'For God and country. Geronimo,'" Schmidle reports.

"Before the President returned to Washington, he posed for photographs with each team member and spoke with many of them, but he left one thing unsaid," Schmidle wrote: "He never asked who fired the kill shot, and the SEALs never volunteered to tell him."

There were multiple previous stealth raids in Pakistan.

According to Schmidle, the unit conducted as many as a dozen previous excursions into the country.

"The Abbottabad raid was not DEVGRU's maiden venture into Pakistan, either," he writes. "The team had surreptitiously entered the country on ten to twelve previous occasions, according to a special-operations officer who is deeply familiar with the bin Laden raid. Most of those missions were forays into North and South Waziristan, where many military and intelligence analysts had thought that bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders were hiding."

Indeed, the raid that killed bin Laden itself was described as so ordinary by the special operations team's standards, Schmidle recounts, that a Defense Department officer described the nighttime raid to Schmidle as "mowing the lawn."

Cairo the dog got to meet Obama.

After the Navy SEAL team leader 'James' mentioned the dog's role in the raid, Obama interrupted:

"There was a dog?" ... James nodded and said that Cairo was in an adjoining room, muzzled, at the request of the Secret Service.

"I want to meet that dog," Obama said.

"If you want to meet the dog, Mr. President, I advise you to bring treats," James joked. Obama went over to pet Cairo, but the dog's muzzle was left on.

Rest in Peace Osama.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Osama bin Laden humour cartoons

Got these humour cartoons on Osama bin Laden via email and i guess i want to share with you all.

Note : Osama bin laden, the world most wanted terrorist was shot dead in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2nd, 2011 and his body was later buried in the sea by the Americans.



















Monday, May 16, 2011

Navy SEAL helmet cams recorded entire Osama bin Laden raid and killing




Salute to the top commando unit in the world - The Navy Seals Team 6.

This is cool.. This is blockbuster material.

The first media who manage to air or screen the last minute of the world's most wanted terrorists, Osama bin Laden on the night of 2nd May 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan, will be instant millionaire or celebrity.

This is because CBS News reported that the entire raid and killing of Osama by the US NAVY SEALS Team 6 was captured by miniature cameras mounted on each of the 25 SEALS who conducted the lightining and super professional raid.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports the 40 minutes it took to kill bin Laden and scoop his archives into garbage bags were all recorded by tiny helmet cameras worn by each of the 25 SEALs.

Officials reviewing those videos are still reconstructing a more accurate version of what happened. We now know that the only firefight took place in the guest house, where one of bin Laden's couriers opened fire and was quickly gunned down. No one in the main building got off a shot or was even armed, although there were weapons nearby.

The SEALs first saw bin Laden when he came out on the third floor landing. They fired, but missed. He retreated to his bedroom, and the first SEAL through the door grabbed bin Laden's daughters and pulled them aside.

When the second SEAL entered, bin Laden's wife rushed forward at him -- or perhaps was pushed by bin Laden. The SEAL shoved her aside and shot bin Laden in the chest. A third seal shot him in the head.

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee went to CIA headquarters Thursday to view photos the SEALs took of bin Laden's body.

Lawmakers see bin Laden photos


"There were probably about maybe four, five or six photos," said Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md. "There are just a couple body shots. He was like, in a white undershirt and a tan robe."

The electronic files the SEALs carted away from bin Laden's compound contain -- among many things -- the names of terrorist operatives which until now were unknown to U.S. intelligence.

The files also contain a small, 12-page journal of bin Laden's handwritten notes about launching a major attack against the United States. He instructed against using Arabs because they arouse too much suspicion, to go after trains and to time the attack to coincide with the 10th anniversary of September 11.

Bin Laden wanted to attack U.S. on 9/11 anniversary

There are also messages to his senior lieutenants and to al Qaeda affiliates, urging them not to waste time on small, local operations and focus their efforts on the United States.


Ruppersberger said, "He kept all that information and he kept all of the data, computers, hard drives and this is what we're analyzing and it shows that his focus was clearly the United States."


U.S. officials cannot understand why bin Laden apparently left what amounts to the keys to his terrorist kingdom just lying around his compound in plain sight -- none of it rigged for self destruction.The killing of Osama bin Laden

Why didn't bin Laden protect his files? The best guess is he thought the United States would never find him.

Cool hah...

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

A Prince gets married, The bad guy is dead and the Actor denies > what an eventful week in the world

People wrote on Twitter, what an eventful week it was starting 29 April to 2nd May 2011.



First a Prince gets married. Prince William marries Kate Middleton on 29th April 2011 at the Westminster Abbey, London.




Secondly the bad guy is dead. 3 days after Prince William got married, the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden was shot dead by elite Navy SEAL Team 6 counter-terrorism unit commandos in a firefight in Abbottabad, Pakistan on 2nd May 2011.




And on the same day Prince William got married, a shy Actor keeps denying he is the man secretly filmed in action with a Chinese Actress in an undirected and uncensored steamy blockbuster Hollywood-style movie..> It's a real Disney weekend here on earth!!

Malaysia's opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim said repeatedly that he is not the man depicted in the steamy video, first surfaced on 21st March 2011.

Monday, May 2, 2011

The raid that killed Osama Bin Laden was revealed first on Twitter.







The raid that killed Osama Bin Laden on the night of May 2nd, 2011 was revealed first on Twitter, the BBC reports on Monday 2nd May 2011.

An Information Technology consultant, living in Abbottabad, Pakistan unknowingly tweeted details of the US-led operation as it happened.

Sohaib Athar, who did not know that the world most wanted terrorist was living nearby in his neighbourhood, wrote that a helicopter was hovering overhead shortly before the assault began and said that it might not be a Pakistani aircraft.

He only became aware of the significance of his tweets after President Obama announced details of Bin Laden's death.

Mr Athar's first posting on the subject came at around 1am local time (9pm BST).

He wrote: "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)."

Soon after, he reported the sound of an explosion, now known to have been US forces blowing-up their damaged helicopter.

"A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S"

Throughout the raid, Mr Athar was drawing on information from friends in the local area who were also online.

"The few people online at this time of the night are saying one of the copters was not Pakistani..."

"People are saying it was not a technical fault and it was shot down. I heard it CIRCLE 3-4 times above, sounded purposeful."

US officials stated that the raid took less than 40 minutes, but Mr Athar said there was still a military presence in the area two hours later.

"And now, a plane flying over Abbottabad..."

In his Twitter biography, Sohaib Athar describes himself as: "An IT consultant taking a break from the rat-race by hiding in the mountains with his laptops."

However, his postings during and after the raid reveal a frustration that world events had caught-up with him.

"I guess Abbottabad is going to get as crowded as the Lahore that I left behind for some peace and quiet. *sigh*"

Mr Athar told the BBC's Nosheen Abbas in Pakistan that his tweets has led to a deluge of interview requests from media organisations around the world.

He also said that he was not surprised to be the only person writing about events as they happened.

"I've been tweeting for about 5, 6 years, and been tweeting about Abbottabad because no one really talks about it,

"In fact, not many people use Twitter here. Everyone uses Facebook," he said.

Twitter confirmation

Political aide and tweeter @keithurbahn worked out what was happening before the announcement Even before President Obama confirmed the death of Osama Bin Laden, informed tweeters were speculating online about the reason for a hastily-organised White House press conference.

Keith Urbahn, chief of staff to former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld wrote: "So I'm told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden."

Already this is being described as another huge day for the micro-blogging service.

"Twitter just had its CNN moment", as one American website put it, comparing this event with the first Gulf War in 1991, where millions suddenly woke up to the fact that cable news was the place to observe a war unfold in real-time.

Such is the power of this network that it has become the key resource for older media trying to stay ahead of events.

A journalist who does not use Twitter is now like one who abjures the mobile phone.

And maybe it's like a husband with no balls or Elton John without David Furnish or Rod Stewart without a blonde bombshell!!! hahaaa.. Thanks for reading.

Osama, Saddam dead.. Gadaffi, Mullah, Kim Jong Ill and Ayman are still alive...







United States of America and its allies have many enemies.

Their Greatest enemies past and present include North Korean Leader Kim Jong Ill, Al Qaeda no.1 and big boss Osama bin Laden, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Al Qaeda no. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri, Taliban no.1 leader Mullah Mohamed Omar and Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

Saddam and Osama are already dead.

Mullah, Ayman, Gaddafi and Kim Jong Ill are still alive and well.

Let's review the status of each and every person listed here which the US hated most.


Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq before his government was overthrown by US led forces in March 2003

Captured on 13 December 2003, Saddam was brought to trial under the Iraqi interim government. On 5 November 2006, he was convicted of charges related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites and was sentenced to death by hanging. Saddam was executed on 30 December 2006

Saddam and most of his right hand men might be dead but the almost daily killings, bombings and anarchy in Iraq, never stop till today.


Osama bin Laden, the Al Qaeda number 1 and considered as the most wanted man in the world and universe was killed by the elite commando unit - US Navy Seal during a savage firefight at a heavily fortified fortress in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on 2nd May 2011.



Osama masterminded the worst ever terrorist attack on US soil on September 11, 2001 by Al Qaeda operatives.

On that fateful day, 19 Al Qaeda operatives led by Mohammad Atta hijacked 4 airliners and slammed 3 passenger airliners into America's landmark, the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon, killing over 3,000 innocent men and women including 343 firefighters and 60 police officers.

The fourth airliner enroute to the White House or the Capitol Building in Washington crashed in Pennsylvania after the passengers fought back.

According to FBI, Osama bin Laden is wanted for murder of U.S. Nationals Outside the United States, conspiracy to Murder U.S. Nationals Outside the United States, attack on a Federal Facility Resulting in Death and many more terrorism acts including the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. These attacks killed over 200 people.

REWARD offered : USD$25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Osama Bin Laden. An additional $2 million is being offered through a program developed and funded by the Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association.


Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the 2nd in command of Al Qaeda has been indicted for his alleged role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya.

Before the death of Osama bin Laden, Ayman is Al Qaeda no.2 and now that Osama bin Laden is dead, Ayman will almost be elevated as the new Al Qaeda boss/leader/commander in chief.

The FBI most wanted terrorists web site said "The United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to USD$25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Ayman Al-Zawahiri.


Muammar Gaddafi till today remained defiant and fought back against those who want him removed as the undisputed leader of Libya since September 1969.

His official residence was bombed many times including in 1986 and on 1st May 2011that killed one of his sons, but Gaddafi is still alive.

On Saturday 30th April 2011, Muammar Gaddafi has said that he will not leave Libya and that he is still prepared to enter a ceasefire but only if all sides are involved.

“I’m not leaving my country,” he said in a live address on state television.

“No one can force me to leave my country and no one can tell me not to fight for my country.”


The Dear Leader, Kim Jong Ill is the leader of North Korea since the death of his father Kim Ill Sung.

Despised by America and its allies, Kim Jong Ill has vowed to fight back with devastating consequences if his country is attacked by the USA or its allies.

North Korea is one of the world's greatest military in terms of personells and strength.

The reclusive leader also boasted of having significant nuclear weapons in his arsenal, capable of annihilating mankind!!!



Mullah Mohamed Omar is the no.1 leader of the Taliban.

Now gone into hiding since the invasion of Afghanistan by US Forces in December 2001.

Mullah fought bravely during the 10 year Soviet occupation in Afghanistan between 1979 to 1988, killing many Soviet soldiers as well as destroying significant number of Soviet's tanks and Armed personell carriers, APC.

Mullah has only one functioning eye, the left eye was blinded by sharpnel during one of his hundreds of combat actions in the deserts of Kandahar, Jalalabad and Baghram.

His whereabouts is unknown. Wether the One Eyed Taliban Bandit is hiding in the rugged terrains of Pakistan or Afghanistan is still a great mystery.

However Mullah is reported to organise or plan suicide and guerrilla style attacks against the US led coalition forces until now.

Long Live the world.. thanks for reading...

Selepas kematian Osama bin Laden, kini Mullah Mohamed Omar pula diburu





Pemimpin tertinggi Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden terbunuh dalam serangan komando elit tentera laut Amerika dikenali Navy Seal di kediaman mewah dan dikawal rapi di Abbottabad, Pakistan, pada tengah malam Isnin 2 Mei 2011.




Selepas kematian Osama bin Laden, tumpuan USA/NATO/CIA kini terarah kepada usaha memburu seorang lagi pemimpin pengganas iaitu pemerintah no.1 Taliban Mullah Mohamed Omar.

Mullah hanya ada 1 mata saja sebab 1 lagi buta masa perang dan berbeza dengan Osama bin Laden yang pernah ditemubual media dan digambar, Mullah tidak membenarkan sama sekali dirinya digambar..

Siapa yang melanggar perintah itu nescaya kepalanya akan ditembak dari jarak dekat menggunakan raifal automatik buatan Soviet Union, AK47 Kalashnikov rifle!!!

Mullah telah memusnahkan banyak kereta kebal Soviet Union ketika perang Afghanistan semasa pendudukan USSR di Afghanistan 1980-1988 termasuk di Jalalabad dan Kandahar.

Setelah Afghanistan ditakluki pula tentera Amerika Syarikat, Mullah dilaporkan merancang aktiviti perang gerila termasuk pengebom berani mati ke atas Tentera Amerika Syarikat dan sekutunya di Afghanistan.

Mullah yang dilahirkan pada 1959 kini dilaporkan bersembunyi di wilayah Pashtun samada di Pakistan atau Afghanistan.

Amerika Syarikat menawarkan ganjaran US25 juta kepada sesiapa yang memberi maklumat hingga tertangkapnya Mullah.

Dimana engkau berada sekarang wahai Mullah....???

The World's most wanted terrorist is dead - Osama Bin Laden




The location of Osama bin Laden safehouse in Abbottabad, Pakistan, near a military academy. The Pakistani spy agency failed in gathering intelligence datas on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden, the world's most dangerous and most wanted terrorist!!


Jubilant Americans gathered in various parts of USA to celebrate the death of the world most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.





Do not underestimate the super powers of the world's greatest military, the armed forces of United States of America, the world's greatest nation!!



Osama bin Laden, the elusive mastermind behind the devastating Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that led the United States into war in Afghanistan and later Iraq, was slain in his luxury hideout in Pakistan in a firefight with US forces, around midnight on 2nd May 2011, US President Barack Obama said.

Bin Laden's death at a compound in Pakistan ended the world's most widely-watched manhunt, and jubilant crowds gathered outside the White House and at ground zero in New York, where the twin towers were brought down by bin Laden's hijackers 10 years ago.

"Justice has been done," the president said.






The United States is conducting DNA testing on slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and used facial recognition techniques to help identify him, a US official said on Monday, 2nd May 2011.

Bin Laden was identified by the assault force that killed him in a firefight in Pakistan in which he resisted and was shot in the head, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Results of the DNA tests should be available in the next few days, the official said.

The strike force was on the ground for less than 40 minutes and the operation was watched real-time by CIA Director Leon Panetta and other intelligence officials in a conference room at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the official said.

"When word came in that the operation was a success, CIA officials in the conference room had a rather large applause," the official said. (Reuters)



In LONDON, British Prime Minister David Cameron hailed news of Osama bin Laden's death, saying it would "bring great relief to people across the world".

In WASHINGTON, Joyous crowds descended on the White House and spontaneously erupted with chants of "USA, USA," as news of Osama bin Laden's death was welcomed by ordinary Americans.



Some brandishing US national flag, they punched the air and sang The Star Spangled Banner, even before the announcement of his death by President Barack Obama in a hurriedly-organized address to the nation.

The Internet, including the Twitter and Facebook social networking websites, were also deluged with reaction to the Al Qaeda leaders death, killed by US forces in Pakistan.

"Finally! I can now sleep tonight knowing this. He was hiding for years and was finally caught and killed. I am so happy right now," said Stewie, on one Yahoo message board. (AFP)



In Islamabad, the Pakistan government said that the killing of Osama bin Laden was a "major setback" to terrorist organisations around the world.

"Osama bin Laden's death illustrates the resolve of the international community, including Pakistan, to fight and eliminate terrorism," the foreign ministry said on Monday 2nd May 2011.


(March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011)The world's most wanted terrorist - Osama bin Laden, the head of Al-Qaeda has been killed by elite US Navy Seal forces.

US forces finally found al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden not in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan's border, but in a million-dollar compound, with his youngest wife.

They were led to the fortress-like three-story building after more than four years tracking one of bin Laden's most trusted couriers, whom U.S. officials said was identified by men captured after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.



Bin Laden was finally found -- more than 9-1/2 years after the 2001 attacks on the United States -- after authorities discovered in August 2010 that the courier lived with his brother and their families in an unusual and extremely high-security building, officials said.

The building, about eight times the size of other nearby houses, sat on a large plot of land that was relatively secluded when it was built in 2005. When it was constructed, it was on the outskirts of Abbotabad's center, at the end of a dirt road, but some other homes have been built nearby in the six years since it went up, officials said.


WALLS TOPPED WITH BARBED WIRE


Intense security measures included 12- to 18-foot (3.6 meters to 5.5 meters) outer walls topped with barbed wire and internal walls that sectioned off different parts of the compound, officials said. Two security gates restricted access, and residents burned their trash, rather than leaving it for collection as did their neighbors, officials said.

Few windows of the three-story home faced the outside of the compound, and a terrace had a seven-foot (2.1 meter) privacy wall, officials said.


A small team of Americans killed bin Laden early Monday, 2nd May 2011 in the town of Abbottabad, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of the capital Islamabad, US and Pakistani officials said.

The team took custody of his remains and American officials said they were being handled in accordance with Islamic tradition.

Three adult males were also killed in the raid, including one of bin Laden's sons, whom officials did not name. One of bin Laden's sons, Hamza, is a senior member of al-Qaida.

US officials also said one woman was killed when she was used as a shield by a male combatant, and two other women were injured.





US officials said the CIA tracked bin Laden to his location, then elite troops from Navy SEAL Team Six, a top military counterterrorism unit, flew to the hideout in four helicopters.

Bin Laden was shot in the head in an ensuing firefight, these officials said, adding that he and his guards had resisted his attackers.

US personnel identified him by facial recognition, the official said, declining to say whether DNA analysis had also been used.


President Obama said neither Americans nor civilians were harmed in the operation.

The death of the world's most-wanted man came just months before the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centers and Pentagon, orchestrated by bin Laden's al-Qaida organization, that killed more than 3,000 people.

The United States attacked Afghanistan within months, pursuing al-Qaida, and an invasion of Iraq followed.

The success of the raid marks a psychological triumph in a long struggle that began with the 2001 attacks, and seems certain to give Obama a political lift. But its ultimate impact on al-Qaida is less clear.

The greatest terrorist threat to the West is now considered to be the al-Qaida franchise in Yemen, far from al-Qaida's core in Pakistan.

The Yemen branch almost took down a US-bound airliner on Christmas 2009 and nearly detonated explosives aboard two US cargo planes last fall.

Those operations were carried out without any direct involvement from bin Laden.

Obama provided few details of the operation beyond to say that he had personally ordered it be carried out.

Other officials said it was so secretive that no foreign officials were informed in advance, and only a small circle inside the administration was aware of what was unfolding half a world away.

But within hours of the announcement, Pakistani officials and a witness said bin Laden's guards had opened fire from the roof of the building, and one of the choppers crashed.

The sound of at least two explosions rocked the small northwestern town of Abbottabad, where the al-Qaida chief made his last stand.

Flames were visible after the attack on the building, about 100 yards (meters) from the gates of a Pakistani military academy - certain to raise questions about al-Qaida's ability to build a custom-made hideout in such close proximity.

Abbottabad, surrounded by hills and with mountains in the distance, is less than half a day's drive from the border region with Afghanistan, where most intelligence assessments believed bin Laden was holed up.

The White House said Obama convened at least nine meetings with top national security officials in the lead-up to the raid.

The president spent part of the day on the golf course, but cut his round short to return to the White House for a meeting where he and top national security aides reviewed final preparations for the raid.

Two hours later, Obama was told that bin Laden had been tentatively identified.

CIA director Leon Panetta was directly in charge of the military team during the operation, according to one official, and when he and his aides received word at agency headquarters that bin Laden had been killed, cheers broke out around the conference room table.

Halfway around the world, in Abbotabad, one witness described a military raid carried out under darkness.

"I heard a thundering sound, followed by heavy firing. Then firing suddenly stopped. Then more thundering, then a big blast," said Mohammad Haroon Rasheed. "In the morning when we went out to see what happened, some helicopter wreckage was lying in an open field."

A Pakistani official in the town said fighters on the roof opened fire on the choppers with rocket-propelled grenades.

Another official said the four helicopters took off from the Ghazi air base in northwest Pakistan.

The US and Pakistani officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Former President George W. Bush, who was in office on the day of the attacks, issued a written statement hailing bin Laden's death as a momentous achievement. "The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done," Bush said.

Obama said he ordered the operation after receiving undisclosed intelligence information. Senior administration officials said the terrorist mastermind was found inside a custom-built compound with two security gates.

They said it appeared to have been constructed to harbor one high-value target and that for undisclosed reasons, officials became clear the hideout was bin Laden's.

Based on statements given by US detainees, intelligence officials have known for years that bin Laden trusted one al-Qaida courier in particular and they believed he might be living with him in hiding.

In November 2010, intelligence officials found out he was living in the huge fortified compound. It was surrounded by walls as high as 18 feet (5.5 meters), topped with barbed wire.

There were two security gates and no phone or Internet running into the house.

Intelligence officials believed the USD$1 million home was custom-built to harbor a major terrorist.

CIA experts analyzed whether it could be anyone else, but time and again, they decided it was almost certainly bin Laden.

Officials also said they believe the death puts al-Qaida on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse, but there was no word on the whereabouts of bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri.

The attacks in the US a decade ago seemed to come out of nowhere, even though al-Qaida had previously damaged American targets overseas.

The terrorists hijacked planes, flew one of them into one of Manhattan's Twin Towers - and, moments later, into the other one.

Both buildings collapsed, trapping thousands inside and claiming the lives of firefighters and others who had rushed to help them.



A third plane slammed into the Pentagon, defacing the symbol of America's military might. A fourth crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers overpowered the hijackers and forced the craft from the air - before it could hit its intended target in Washington.

Obama spoke with Bush and former President Bill Clinton on Sunday night to inform them of the developments.

Obama struck a less than boastful tone in his brief announcement, although he said the death of bin Laden was "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al-Qaida.

"His death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubt that al-Qaida will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant," he added.

Moments after Obama spoke, the State Department put US embassies on alert and warned of the heightened possibility for anti-American violence. In a worldwide travel alert, the department said there was an "enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counterterrorism activity in Pakistan."
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