Osama Bin Laden dead – Obama
Afghanistan: Undated file picture of the head of the al-Qaeda terror network Osama bin Laden at an undisclosed place inside Afghanistan.
The leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, has been killed, US President Barack Obama announced late on Sunday in an address to the nation from the White House. He is believed to have been buried at sea.
“Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin Laden – the leader of Al-Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children,” Obama said in his address.
“Over the last ten years… we’ve disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government which had given Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda safe haven and support, and around the globe we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of Al-Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot. Yet, Osama Bin Laden avoided capture and escaped to cross the Afghan border into Pakistan,” the US president continued.
Obama said that in August 2010 he was briefed by the US intelligence on a possible lead to Bin Laden. It took months then to “run this thread to ground” and find out that Osama Bin Laden was supposedly hiding in a compound deep inside Pakistan.
“Finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama Bin Laden and bring him to justice,” Obama said. “Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.”
According to the US president, Bin Laden was killed in a firefight with US forces at a house in Abbottabad, some 100km from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. A small team of American troops reportedly carried out the attack and took custody of Bin Laden's remains. Intense intelligence activity preceded the operation, he said.
“The death of Bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s efforts to defeat Al-Qaeda,” Obama concluded.
The news has quickly spread in the US and around the globe. Television channels show a large crowd gathered in front of the White House to celebrate. People are chanting “USA” and wave flags of the United States.
