Founder of the dreaded Islamist organization Al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden was killed in a US military assault on his hideout outside Islamabad in Pakistan, President Obama announced, based on official confirmation from his forces in action.
CNN quoted sources as saying that bin Laden was killed in an operation based on actionable US intelligence targeting a mansion outside the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
President Barack Obama later addressed Americans in a highly unusual Sunday night appearance on television in what would be a massive breakthrough in the US anti-terror campaign.
President Barack Obama later addressed Americans in a highly unusual Sunday night appearance on television in what would be a massive breakthrough in the US anti-terror campaign.
He said that justice had been done after the September 11, 2001 attacks with the death of Osama bin Laden, but warned that Al-Qaeda would still try to attack the United States."For over two decades, bin Laden has been Al-Qaeda`s leader and symbol and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies," the US leader said in his dramatic late Sunday White House address.
"The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation`s effort to defeat Al-Qaeda. 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," he warned."We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to Al- Qaeda`s terror, justice has been done."
Almost 3,000 people were killed when "Al-Qaeda terrorists" riding hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, demolishing the twin towers. At teast a dozen Bangladeshis in America were among the casualties.Another plane plowed into the Pentagon in Washington, and a fourth crashed into a Pennsylvania field when the passengers overcame the hijackers. All those on board were killed.US armed forces have been hunting the Saudi terror kingpin for years, an effort that was redoubled following the attacks by hijacked airliners on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon which killed 3,000 people in 2001.
But bin Laden always managed to evade US armed forces and a massive manhunt, and was most often thought to be hiding out in Pakistan and Afghanistan border areas.The death of bin Laden will raise huge questions about the future shape of Al-Qaeda and also have steep implications for US security and foreign policy 10 years into a global anti-terror campaign.It will also provoke fears that the United States and its allies will face retaliation from supporters of bin Laden and other Islamic extremist groups.
Chants of "USA, USA" rang out from tourists outside the White House as the news of bin Laden`s death sent a electric charge through Washington.A group of around 20 people gathered outside the fence of the presidential mansion and sung the US national anthem and started shouting and cheering.Despite the decade that has elapsed since the September 11 attacks, the event, one of the most traumatic in US history, still stirs raw emotions, and his demise will be celebrated across the United States.In the Upstream restaurant in the old market area of Omaha, Nebraska, owners switched TV channels from the evening`s sports games as news of Laden`s death trickled in.
Patrons cheered and called friends to tell them of the news."We are going to be able to remember sitting here, you are going to remember where you where," said Vaughn Wickham from Spirit Lake, Iowa.The mission that killed Laden was carried out by U.S. forces with the cooperation of Pakistan, the U.S. President said.Osama bin Laden -- the longtime leader of al Qaeda -- was killed by U.S. forces in a mansion about 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad along with other family members, a senior U.S. official told CNN.
"The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation`s effort to defeat Al-Qaeda. 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," he warned."We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to Al- Qaeda`s terror, justice has been done."
Almost 3,000 people were killed when "Al-Qaeda terrorists" riding hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, demolishing the twin towers. At teast a dozen Bangladeshis in America were among the casualties.Another plane plowed into the Pentagon in Washington, and a fourth crashed into a Pennsylvania field when the passengers overcame the hijackers. All those on board were killed.US armed forces have been hunting the Saudi terror kingpin for years, an effort that was redoubled following the attacks by hijacked airliners on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon which killed 3,000 people in 2001.
But bin Laden always managed to evade US armed forces and a massive manhunt, and was most often thought to be hiding out in Pakistan and Afghanistan border areas.The death of bin Laden will raise huge questions about the future shape of Al-Qaeda and also have steep implications for US security and foreign policy 10 years into a global anti-terror campaign.It will also provoke fears that the United States and its allies will face retaliation from supporters of bin Laden and other Islamic extremist groups.
Chants of "USA, USA" rang out from tourists outside the White House as the news of bin Laden`s death sent a electric charge through Washington.A group of around 20 people gathered outside the fence of the presidential mansion and sung the US national anthem and started shouting and cheering.Despite the decade that has elapsed since the September 11 attacks, the event, one of the most traumatic in US history, still stirs raw emotions, and his demise will be celebrated across the United States.In the Upstream restaurant in the old market area of Omaha, Nebraska, owners switched TV channels from the evening`s sports games as news of Laden`s death trickled in.
Patrons cheered and called friends to tell them of the news."We are going to be able to remember sitting here, you are going to remember where you where," said Vaughn Wickham from Spirit Lake, Iowa.The mission that killed Laden was carried out by U.S. forces with the cooperation of Pakistan, the U.S. President said.Osama bin Laden -- the longtime leader of al Qaeda -- was killed by U.S. forces in a mansion about 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad along with other family members, a senior U.S. official told CNN.
Members of Pakistan`s intelligence service, the ISI, were on site in Abbottabad during the operation, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said.Bin Laden resisted the assault and was killed in a firefight, senior administration officials said.The Pakistani intelligence official said he did not know who fired the shot that actually killed Laden.U.S. sources, including a senior official and a congressional source familiar with the operation, said bin Laden was shot in the head.Three other men were also killed in a raid, as was a woman who was being used as a human shield, senior administration officials said.
The U.S. team was at the compound for about 40 minutes, the officials said. There were no casualties on the American side, although a U.S. helicopter crashed during the raid due to mechanical problems. The helicopter was then destroyed for security reasons, senior administration officials said.A senior administration official told reporters that Obama`s administration did not share intelligence gathered beforehand with any other country -- including Pakistan -- for security reasons.The official said only a small group of people inside the U.S. government knew about this operation ahead of time. Another official said a "small U.S. team" was involved in the operation; but the official would not confirm any U.S. military involvement.
