Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in a US special forces and CIA helicopter-borne raid on a mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan, at about 1 am Pakistan time on Monday. The mansion where the firefight took place is less than two km from the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, frequented by top Pakistani generals, including Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who visited it only days ago to address cadets.
The announcement of the killing of the most wanted terrorist in the world by US Navy Seals and CIA operatives was made by US President Barack Obama in a dramatic globally-televised statement from the White House in Washington, DC. “Justice has been done...” President Obama said and spoke of the “targeted operation” that resulted in Bin Laden’s death. American officials were later quoted as saying that Bin Laden resisted the assault team and was shot in the head during the firefight.
Pakistani officials said Bin Laden’s body was taken to Afghanistan by the raiding party after he was killed in Pakistan and was later buried at sea to make sure his grave did not become a shrine.
DNA tests have confirmed that Osama bin Laden is dead, a senior US official said on Monday, AFP reported. The official confirmed on condition of anonymity that a DNA match had been established with Bin Laden’s body before it was buried at sea after the raid. Another official was quoted by AFP as saying, “Bin Laden’s DNA has been matched to several family members. And there is at least 99 per cent certainty that the DNA matches that of Osama bin Laden.”
The Al Qaeda chief had been living in the heavily fortified three-storeyed house on the Kakul road some 150 km from Islamabad for quite some time. His hideout was not, as many believed, somewhere in the tribal regions but in Abbottabad, an hour’s drive from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Abbottabad, apart from the military academy, is also a Pakistan military base.
Of the three other men killed in the 40-minute Abbottabad firefight one was believed to be Bin Laden’s son and the other two his couriers. An American official briefing the media in Washington said a woman used as a human shield by one of the men was also killed. Two others were wounded. The US lost one helicopter but suffered no casualties. Some family members of Bin Laden, one of them believed to be his youngest wife, were taken into custody, according to officials.
In Washington, President Obama said, “Tonight I can report to the people of the United States and the world that the United States has carried out an operation that has killed Osama bin Laden, the terrorist responsible for killing thousands of innocent people.” He added: “For over two decades, Bin Laden has been Al Qaeda’s leader and symbol ... The death of Bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat Al Qaeda. But his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that Al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad.”
“We must also reaffirm that the US is not and will never be at war against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader. In fact, he slaughtered many Muslims,” President Obama said.
Analysts described the presence of Bin laden close to a military facility as a big “intelligence failure” while Pakistani Opposition parties said the deadly action involving US personnel on Pakistani soil was an attack on the sovereignty of the country.
The Pakistan foreign office officially confirmed the death of Osama bin Laden in an “intelligence-driven military operation” conducted by the US in the early hours of Monday at Abbottabad. “A helicopter crashed near Abbottabad during an operation by US Special Forces that resulted in the killing of Osama bin Laden,” a local police official said. The military helicopter burst into flames after crashing into the compound of a house near Bilal Town area near Abbottabad, he added. “Two other helicopters participated in the operation during which some persons were killed and several foreign nationals, including women and children, were detained,” another official said.
Islamabad said the world’s most wanted terrorist mastermind was killed in an operation “conducted by US forces in accordance with declared US policy that Osama bin Laden be eliminated in a direct action by US forces wherever he is found in the world.” The foreign office termed it “a major setback to terrorist organisations around the world”.
The statement said US President Barrack Obama telephoned Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on the successful US operation. “Osama bin Laden’s death illustrates the resolve of the international community, including Pakistan, to fight and eliminate terrorism,” the statement added. The foreign office said Al Qaeda had declared war on Pakistan. “Almost, 30,000 Pakistani civilians lost their lives in terrorist attacks in the last few years. More than 5,000 Pakistani security and armed forces officials have been martyred in Pakistan’s campaign against Al Qaeda, other terrorist organisations and affiliates,” the foreign office said.
“Pakistan has played a significant role in efforts to eliminate terrorism. We have had extremely effective intelligence sharing arrangements with several intelligence agencies including that of the US. We will continue to support international efforts against terrorism,” it added. “It is Pakistan’s stated policy that it will not allow its soil to be used in terrorist attacks against any country. Pakistan’s political leadership, Parliament, state institutions and the whole nation are fully united in their resolve to eliminate terrorism,” the statement read.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Monday the US killing of Bin Laden not far from the Pakistani capital was a “great victory”. “We will not allow our soil to be used against any other country for terrorism and therefore I think it’s a great victory, it’s a success, and I congratulate the success of this operation,” he said.
Asked about the extent to which Pakistan cooperated in the operation he said, “I don’t know the details, I don’t know minute details, but, in short, we have intelligence cooperation.”
Meanwhile, Egyptian-born doctor and surgeon Ayman al-Zawahri, Al Qaeda’s second-in-command, is expected to succeed Bin Laden. Zawahri has been the brains behind Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network, and at times its most public face, repeatedly denouncing the US and its allies in video messages. Separately, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) denied reports that Bin Laden had been killed. “Osama bin Laden is alive. He is not dead,” a Taliban spokesman claimed in a statement from an undisclosed location.
Osama bin Laden was one of more than 50 children of Muhammad bin Laden, who migrated from Yemen to become a construction tycoon in Saudi Arabia.