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{{Short description|2011 U.S. military operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan}}
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{{Good article}}
{{current|date=May 2011}}
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{{Infobox military person
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}
| name='''Osama bin Laden'''<br>{{lang|ar|أسامة بن لادن}}
{{Infobox historical event
| image=]
| title = Killing of Osama bin Laden
| caption=Bin Laden in 1997
| partof = the ]
| born={{Birth date|mf=yes|1957|3|10}}
| image = Osama bin Laden compound1.jpg
| died={{Death date and age|mf=yes|2011|5|2|1957|3|10}}<!-- Date of death is given in local (Pakistan) time, where Osama died -->
| image_size = 260px
| placeofburial_label =
| image_alt =
| placeofburial=North ]
| caption = ], 4 May 2011
| placeofbirth=], Saudi Arabia
| map = Operation Neptune Spear map of locations.svg
| placeofdeath=], Pakistan<br>{{coord|34.169293|73.242450|type:event}}
| map_caption = Map of the approximate flight path of the Afghanistan-based American operatives to and from the compound in Pakistan
| placeofburial_coordinates=<!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| motive = Retaliation for the ] in 2001
| nationality=]n
| organizers = {{flagu|United States}}
| ethnicity=]
| participants = {{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|''List:''}}|] ]|]|]|]}}
| nickname =
| location = ], ], ], Pakistan
| allegiance=]
| date = {{Start date and age|2011|05|02}}
| serviceyears =
| nongregorian = <!-- not applicable -->
| rank =
| deaths = {{Collapsible list|title={{nobold|''List:''}}|Osama bin Laden (54)|] (23)|] (33)|Abrar (30), brother of Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti|Bushra (age unknown), wife of Abrar}}
| servicenumber =
| result = Death of ] shortly before 1:00 a.m. ]
| unit =
| commands =
| battles =]<br>]:
*]
**]
*]
**]
| battles_label =
| awards =
| relations =
| laterwork=
}} }}
{{Osama bin Laden series}}
{{Barack Obama sidebar}}


On May 2,{{Efn|At the time of the raid, it was early morning of May 2 in Pakistan and late afternoon of May 1 in the United States.}} 2011, the ] conducted '''Operation Neptune Spear''', in which ] shot and killed ] at his "]" in ], ].<ref>Gal Perl Finkel, , '']'', March 7, 2017.</ref> Bin Laden, who founded ] and masterminded the ], had been the subject of a ] since the beginning of the ], but escaped to Pakistan—]—during or after the ] in December 2001. The mission was part of an effort led by the ] (CIA), with the ] (JSOC) coordinating the ] involved in the raid. In addition to SEAL Team Six, participating units under JSOC included the ] and the CIA's ], which recruits heavily from among former JSOC Special Mission Units.<ref name="deadlyraid" /><ref name="CIAled" />
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2011}}
], the founder of the ] organization responsible for the ] in the United States and other ] worldwide, was killed by ] wounds to his head and chest<ref> – ''Daily News'' – May 3, 2011 – Retrieved May 3, 2011.</ref><ref name="ref-81"/><ref name="guardian_was_found"/> on May&nbsp;2, 2011, around 01:00 ],<ref>May&nbsp;1, 20:00 ], 16:00 ]/13:00 ].</ref> in a 40-minute raid by ]. The raid, code name "Operation Neptune's Spear", also known as the "Abbottabad Operation" in the Pakistani press,<ref> ] May 4, 2011</ref> took place at ]<ref name="ref-80"/> in ], ], Pakistan.<ref name="ref-4"/> At the conclusion of the raid, U.S. forces took bin Laden's body to ] for identification before burying it at sea within 24 hours of his death.<ref name="TNYT20110501"/><ref name="ref-5"/><ref name="guardian20110502"/>


Approved by American president ] and involving two dozen ] in two ], Operation Neptune Spear was launched from about {{convert|120|mi|km}} away, near the Afghan city of ].<ref name="aftermath" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13257330|title=Osama Bin Laden's death: How it happened|work=BBC News |date=September 10, 2012}}</ref> The raid took 40 minutes, and bin Laden was killed shortly before 1:00{{nbs}}a.m. ]<ref name="waposurveil" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Cooper |first=Helene |title=Obama Announces Killing of Osama bin Laden |date=May 1, 2011 |url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/bin-laden-dead-u-s-official-says/ |work=] |access-date=May 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502033900/http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/bin-laden-dead-u-s-official-says/ |archive-date=May 2, 2011 }}</ref> (20:00 ], May 1).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/09/world/death-of-osama-bin-laden-fast-facts/index.html |title=Death of Osama bin Laden Fast Facts |work=] |date=April 27, 2021 |access-date=February 25, 2022}}</ref> Three other men, including one of bin Laden's sons, and a woman in the compound were also killed. After the raid, the operatives returned to Afghanistan with bin Laden's corpse for identification and then flew over {{convert|850|mi|km}} to the ], where he was ].<ref name="ref-5" />
The operation was authorized by ] ] and carried out by members of the ] from the ] (DEVGRU),<ref name="ref-82"/> informally referred to by its former name, SEAL Team Six,<ref name="ref-11"/> under the command of the ], in conjunction with U.S. ] (CIA) operatives. The team was sent across the border of Afghanistan to launch the attack.<ref name="ABCNews"/>


Al-Qaeda confirmed bin Laden's death through posts made on militant websites on May 6, and vowed to avenge his killing.<ref name="revenge" /> Additionally, Pakistani militant organizations, including the ], vowed retaliation against the United States and against Pakistan for failing to prevent the American raid.<ref>Varun Vira and Anthony Cordesman, "", Center for Strategic and International Studies, July 25, 2011.</ref> The raid, which was supported by over 90% of the American public,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1978/poll-osama-bin-laden-death-reaction-obama-bush-military-cia-credit-first-heard-news |title=Public 'Relieved' By bin Laden's Death, Obama's Job Approval Rises |publisher=Pew Research Center |year=2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509192703/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1978/poll-osama-bin-laden-death-reaction-obama-bush-military-cia-credit-first-heard-news |archive-date=May 9, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/147395/Americans-Back-Bin-Laden-Mission-Credit-Military-CIA.aspx |title=Americans Back Bin Laden Mission; Credit Military, CIA Most |first=Frank |last=Newport |publisher=Gallup |year=2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011}}</ref> was also welcomed by the ], the ], and ], as well as a large number of international organizations and governments.<ref name="ref-16" /> However, it was condemned by two-thirds of the Pakistani public.<ref> Gallup. May 18, 2011,</ref> Legal and ethical aspects of the killing, such as the failure to capture him alive in spite of him being unarmed, were questioned by ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Questions around operation against Osama bin Laden|date=May 4, 2011 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2011/05/questions-around-operation-against-osama-bin-laden/ |publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=May 6, 2011}}</ref> Also controversial was the decision to classify any photographic or DNA evidence of bin Laden's death.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/us-tells-court-bin-laden-photos-must-stay-221620289.html|title=US tells court bin Laden photos must stay secret|first=Richard |last=Lardner |agency=Associated Press|date=September 27, 2011}}</ref> There was widespread discontent among Pakistanis with regard to how effectively the country's defences were breached by the United States, and how the ] failed to detect and intercept any incoming American aircraft.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/what_did_pakistani_forces_do_during_bin_laden_raid/24093720.html |title=Gone In 40 Minutes – What Pakistani Forces Did During Bin Laden Raid |publisher=Rferl.org |date=May 6, 2011 |accessdate=February 25, 2022}}</ref>
The killing of bin Laden received a favorable response in the United States and was welcomed by ], ],<ref name="ref-16"/> ], the ], and a large number of countries as a positive and significant turning point for global security and the ]. The Palestinian ] leader of the ], ], however, said: "We condemn the assassination of a Muslim and Arab warrior".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488479/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-Hamas-condemns-killing-of-bin-Laden.html |title=Osama bin Laden dead: Hamas condemns killing of bin Laden |author=Richard Spencer|publisher=The Telegraph |date=May 2, 2011 |accessdate=May 3, 2011 |location=London}}</ref>


After the killing of bin Laden, Pakistani prime minister ] formed a commission led by senior justice ] to investigate the circumstances of the assault.<ref name="Daily Times, Pakistan">{{cite news |last=Staff |title= Abbottabad Commission given 30 days to submit report |url= http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\story_12-9-2012_pg7_15 |access-date= June 28, 2013 |work= Daily Times |location=Pakistan |date= September 12, 2012}}</ref> The resulting ] reported that the "collective failure" of Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies had enabled bin Laden to hide in the country for nine years. The report was classified by the Pakistani government but was later leaked to and published by ] on July 8, 2013.<ref name="AlJaz20130708">{{cite web |last=Hashim |first=Asad |title= Leaked report shows Bin Laden's 'hidden life' |url= https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/7/8/leaked-report-shows-bin-ladens-hidden-life |publisher=Al Jazeera English |access-date= July 8, 2013 |date=July 8, 2013}}</ref>
The Pakistani government was criticized for failing to apprehend bin Laden, who had been living in a large prominent compound in a major Pakistani city, close to Pakistan's premier military academy and 50 km from the capital, ]. Pakistani officials denied knowingly harboring bin Laden, saying that they had no knowledge that he was there, and strongly denied allegations of official support for him.


==Locating bin Laden== == Search for bin Laden ==
{{See also|Location of Osama bin Laden}} {{Main|Manhunt for Osama bin Laden}}
{{further|Killing of Osama bin Laden#Hillhouse and Hersh reports}}
American intelligence officials discovered the whereabouts of ] by tracking one of his couriers, as bin Laden was believed to have concealed his whereabouts from al-Qaeda foot soldiers or top commanders.
Accounts of how bin Laden was located by U.S. intelligence differ. The White House and CIA director ] stated that the process began with a fragment of information unearthed in 2002, resulting in years of investigation. This account states that by September 2010, these leads followed a courier to the Abbottabad compound, where the U.S. began intensive multiplatform surveillance.


===Identity of his courier=== === Identity of courier ===
According to the earlier official version of his identification from a U.S. official, identification of al-Qaeda couriers was an early priority for interrogators at CIA ]s and the ], because bin Laden was believed to communicate through such couriers while concealing his whereabouts from al-Qaeda foot soldiers and top commanders.<ref name="phonecall" /> Bin Laden was known not to use phones after 1998, when the U.S. had launched ] against his bases in Afghanistan in August of that year by tracking an associate's satellite phone.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tracking use of bin Laden's satellite phone|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/05/28/tracking-use-of-bin-ladens-satellite-phone/ |date=May 28, 2008 |access-date=May 8, 2011 |work=] |url-access=subscription}}</ref>


The U.S. official had stated that by 2002, interrogators had heard uncorroborated claims about an al-Qaeda courier with the '']'' ] (sometimes referred to as ] Abu Ahmed from Kuwait).<ref name="phonecall" /> One of those claims came from ], a detainee interrogated for 48 days more or less continuously between November 23, 2002, and January 11, 2003. At some point during this period, al-Qahtani told interrogators about a man known as Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti who was part of the inner circle of al-Qaeda.<ref> CNN, December 11, 2012.</ref> Later in 2003, ], the alleged operational chief of al-Qaeda, said he was acquainted with al-Kuwaiti but that the man was not active in al-Qaeda, according to a U.S. official.<ref name="torture" />
Identification of al-Qaeda couriers was an early priority for interrogators at CIA ] and ].<ref name="torture">{{cite news |title="Bin Laden Raid Revives Debate on Value of Torture" |first=Scott |last=Shane |author2=Savage Charlie |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/us/politics/04torture.html?hp |newspaper=] |date=May 3, 2011 |accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref><ref name="rumsfeldnewsmax"/>


According to a U.S. official, in 2004 a prisoner named ] revealed that bin Laden relied on a trusted courier known as al-Kuwaiti.<ref name="torture" /><ref name="WP20131017">{{cite news|title=Documents reveal NSA's extensive involvement in targeted killing program|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/documents-reveal-nsas-extensive-involvement-in-targeted-killing-program/2013/10/16/29775278-3674-11e3-8a0e-4e2cf80831fc_story_2.html|access-date=October 17, 2013|newspaper=]|date=October 17, 2013|first1=Greg |last1=Miller |first2=Julie |last2=Tate |first3=Barton |last3=Gellman}}</ref> Ghul said al-Kuwaiti was close to bin Laden as well as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Mohammed's successor ]. Ghul revealed that al-Kuwaiti had not been seen in some time, which led U.S. officials to suspect he was traveling with bin Laden. When confronted with Ghul's account, Mohammed maintained his original story.<ref name="torture" /> Abu Faraj al-Libbi was captured in 2005 and transferred to Guantánamo in September 2006.<ref name="miamifaraj" /> He told CIA interrogators that bin Laden's courier was a man named Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq Jan and denied knowing al-Kuwaiti. Because both Mohammed and al-Libbi had minimized al-Kuwaiti's importance, officials speculated that he was part of bin Laden's inner circle.<ref name="torture" />
By 2002 interrogators had heard uncorroborated claims about an al-Qaeda courier with the ] Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti (sometimes referred to as ] Abu Ahmed, from ]).<ref name="phonecall"/> In 2003 ], the alleged operational chief of al-Qaeda, revealed under interrogation that he was acquainted with al-Kuwaiti but that he was not active in al-Qaeda.


In 2007, officials learned al-Kuwaiti's real name,<ref name="realname" /> though they said they would disclose neither the name nor how they learned it.<ref name="torture" /> Pakistani officials in 2011 stated the courier's name was Ibrahim Saeed Ahmed, from Pakistan's ]. He and his brother Abrar and their families were living at bin Laden's compound, the officials said.<ref>Gannon, Kathy, "", '']'', June 1, 2011.</ref> The name Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq Jan appears in the ] for Abu Faraj al-Libbi,{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} but the CIA never found anyone named Maulawi Jan and concluded that the name was an invention of al-Libbi.<ref name="torture" /> A 2010 wiretap of another suspect picked up a conversation with al-Kuwaiti. CIA paramilitary operatives located al-Kuwaiti in August 2010 and followed him back to the Abbottabad compound, which led them to speculate it was bin Laden's location.<ref name="phonecall" />
In 2004 an al-Qaeda prisoner named ] told interrogators that al-Kuwaiti was close to bin Laden as well as Khalid Sheik Mohammed and Mohammed's successor ].<ref name="hassanghul"/> Ghul further revealed that al-Kuwaiti had not been seen in some time, a fact which led U.S. officials to suspect he was travelling with bin Laden. When confronted with Ghul's account, Khalid Sheik Mohammed maintained his original story. Abu Faraj al-Libi was captured in 2005 and transferred to Guantánamo in September 2006.<ref name="skull"/><ref name="miamifaraj" /> He told CIA interrogators that bin Laden's courier was a man named Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq Jan and denied knowing al-Kuwaiti. Because both Mohammed and al-Libi had minimized al-Kuwaiti's importance, officials speculated that he was part of bin Laden's inner circle.


The courier and a relative (who was either a brother or a cousin) were killed in the May 2, 2011 raid.<ref name="torture" /> Afterward, some locals identified the men as ] named Arshad and Tareq Khan.<ref name="pashtuns" /> Arshad Khan was carrying an old, noncomputerized Pakistani ], which identified him as from Khat Kuruna, a village near ] in northwestern Pakistan. Pakistani officials have found no record of an Arshad Khan in that area and suspect the men were living under false identities.<ref name="nytpakinvest" />
In 2007 officials learned al-Kuwaiti's real name, though they will not disclose the name nor how they learned it. Since the name Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq Jan appears in the JTF-GTMO detainee assessment for Abu Faraj al-Libi released by ] on April 24, 2011,<ref name="wikileaksfaraj"/> there was speculation that the US assault on the Abbottābad compound was expedited as a precaution.<ref name="dailymailwikileaks"/> The CIA never found anyone named Maulawi Jan and concluded al-Libi made the name up.<ref name="torture"/>


=== Bin Laden's compound ===
A 2010 wiretap of another suspect picked up a conversation with al-Kuwaiti.<ref>"Tips Led To Kill Shots" – New York Daily News – May 3, 2011, page 2 – Retrieved May 3, 2011.</ref> CIA officials located al-Kuwaiti and followed him back to bin Laden's Abbottābad compound. The courier and a relative (who was either a brother or a cousin) were killed in the May 2, 2011 raid.<ref name="torture"/> Afterward some locals identified the men as ] named Arshad and Tareq Khan.<ref name="pashtuns">{{cite news |title="Bin Laden neighbours piece together mystery lives" |first=Emmanuel |last=Duparcq |author2=Sajjad Tarakzai |url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gdUrL1O2Z4ub7-ZT5_1s1W8dwltw?docId=CNG.763be60251d148f36d94b0a2d31f1192.601 |work=] |date=May 3, 2011 |accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref> Arshad Khan was carrying an old, noncomputerized Pakistani ] which said he was from Khat Kuruna, a village near ] in northwestern Pakistan. Pakistani officials have found no record of an Arshad Khan in that area and suspect the men were living under false identities.<ref name="plainview">{{cite news |title="Pakistani Military Investigates How Bin Laden Was Able to Hide in Plain View" |first=Carlotta |last=Gall |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/world/asia/05compound.html |newspaper=] |date=May 4, 2011 |accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref>
{{Main|Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad}}
The CIA used surveillance photos and intelligence reports to determine the identities of the inhabitants of the Abbottabad compound to which the courier was traveling. In September 2010, the CIA concluded that the compound was custom-built to hide someone of significance, very likely bin Laden.<ref name="MazzettiCooper" /><ref name="Dedman" /> Officials surmised that he was living there with his youngest wife and family.<ref name="Dedman" />


Built in 2004, the three-story<ref name="ZengerleBull" /> compound was at the end of a narrow dirt road<ref name="ref-96" /> located {{convert|2+1/2|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=off}} northeast of the city center of Abbottabad.<ref name="MazzettiCooper" /> Abbottabad is about {{convert|100|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} from the Afghanistan border on the far eastern side of Pakistan (about {{convert|20|mi|km|disp=or|order=flip|abbr=on|-1}} from India). The compound is {{convert|1.3|km|mi|frac=8|abbr=on}} southwest of the ].<ref name="deadlyraid" /> Located on a plot of land eight times larger than those of nearby houses, the compound was surrounded by a {{convert|3.7|to|5.5|m|ft|0|adj=on}}<ref name="Dedman" /> concrete wall topped with barbed wire.<ref name="MazzettiCooper" /> It had two security gates, and the third-floor balcony had a {{convert|2.1|m|ft|adj=mid|-high|0}} privacy wall, tall enough to hide the {{convert|6|ft|4|in|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} bin Laden.
===Location of his compound===
{{main|Osama bin Laden's hideout compound}}
]
A telephone conversation between al-Kuwaiti and another operative monitored by the ] led the agency in August 2010 to track al-Kuwaiti to the compound in Abbottābad.<ref name="phonecall"/> Using satellite photos and intelligence reports, the CIA determined the identities of the inhabitants of the mansion to which the courier was traveling. In September, the CIA concluded that the compound was "custom-built to hide someone of significance," and that bin Laden's residence there was very likely.<ref name="MazzettiCooper"/><ref name="Dedman"/> Officials surmised that he was living there with his youngest wife.<ref name="Dedman"/>


The compound had no Internet or landline telephone service. Its residents burned their refuse, unlike their neighbors, who set their garbage out for collection.<ref name="ZengerleBull" /> Local residents called the building the ''Waziristan ]'', because they believed the owner was from ].<ref name="WaziristanHaveli" /> Following the American raid and killing of bin Laden, the Pakistani government demolished the compound in February 2012.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ladd |first=Trevor J. |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-ladens-pakistani-compound-demolished/story?id=15800784 |title=Osama Bin Laden's Pakistani Compound Demolished |publisher=ABC News |date=February 27, 2012 |access-date=September 24, 2013}}</ref>
] maps show that the compound was not present in 2001, but did exist on images taken in 2005.<ref name="ref-84"/> Built in 2004, the three-story<ref name="ZengerleBull"/> compound was located "at the end of a narrow dirt road",<ref name="nytimes1"/> 2.5 miles (4&nbsp;km) northeast of the city center of Abbottābad.<ref name="MazzettiCooper"/> Abbottābad is about 100 miles from the Afghanistan border on the far eastern side of Pakistan (about 20 miles from ]). The compound is 0.8 miles (1.3&nbsp;km) southwest of the ] (PMA), Pakistan's "]".<ref name="ref-7"/> On a plot of land eight times larger than those of nearby houses, it was surrounded by 12-to-18-foot (3.7–5.5&nbsp;m)<ref name="Dedman"/> concrete walls topped with ].<ref name="MazzettiCooper"/> There were two security gates, and the third-floor balcony had a seven-foot-high (2.1&nbsp;m) privacy wall (which could hide the 6' 4" bin Laden).


=== Intelligence gathering ===
There was no Internet or telephone service connected to the compound. Its residents burned their trash, unlike their neighbors, who set their garbage out for collection.<ref name="ZengerleBull"/> Local residents called the building the ''Waziristan Haveli'' ('']'' is a term used in India and Pakistan that roughly translates to ''mansion'').
] aerial photo of the compound]]
The CIA led the effort to surveil and gather intelligence on the compound; other critical roles in the operation were played by other United States agencies, including the ], ] (NGA), ] (ODNI), and ].<ref name="fedtimes" /> U.S. officials told '']'' that the intelligence-gathering effort "was so extensive and costly that the CIA went to ] in December to secure authority to reallocate tens of millions of dollars within assorted agency budgets to fund it."<ref name="waposurveil" />


The CIA rented a home in Abbottabad from which a team staked out and observed the compound over a number of months. The CIA team used informants and other techniques—including a widely criticized fake ] program—<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/02/aid-groups-cia-osama-bin-laden-polio-crisis |title=CIA tactics to trap Bin Laden linked with polio crisis, say aid groups |work=] |date=March 2, 2012 |access-date=February 11, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/06/world/asia/pakistan-polio-vaccination/index.html |title=Bin Laden raid harms Pakistan polio fight |publisher=CNN |date=June 7, 2012 |access-date=February 11, 2014}}</ref> to gather intelligence on the compound. The safe house was abandoned immediately after bin Laden's death.<ref name="waposurveil" /> The U.S. ] helped the ] create mission simulators for the pilots, and analyzed data from an ]<ref name="CIA flew stealth drones">{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Greg|title=CIA flew stealth drones into Pakistan to monitor bin Laden house|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cia-flew-stealth-drones-into-pakistan-to-monitor-bin-laden-house/2011/05/13/AF5dW55G_story.html|access-date=August 31, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 18, 2011}}</ref> drone before, during and after the raid on the compound. The NGA created three-dimensional renderings of the house, created schedules describing residential traffic patterns, and assessed the number, height and gender of the residents of the compound.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/the-little-known-agency-that-helped-kill-bin-laden/238454/ |title=The Little-Known Agency That Helped Kill Bin Laden |work=] |date=May 8, 2011 |access-date=May 8, 2011}}</ref> Also involved in the intelligence gathering measures were an arm of the National Security Agency known as the ]<ref>{{cite news|last=Paterson|first=Andrea|title=The NSA has its own team of elite hackers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/29/the-nsa-has-its-own-team-of-elite-hackers/|access-date=August 31, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 30, 2013}}</ref> which, among other things, is specialized in surreptitiously installing spyware and tracking devices on targeted computers and mobile-phone networks. Because of the work of the Tailored Access Operations group, the NSA could collect intelligence from mobile phones that were used by al-Qaeda operatives and other "persons of interest" in the hunt for bin Laden.<ref>{{cite news|title=To hunt Osama bin Laden, satellites watched over Abbottabad, Pakistan, and Navy SEALs|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/to-hunt-osama-bin-laden-satellites-watched-over-abbottabad-pakistan-and-navy-seals/2013/08/29/8d32c1d6-10d5-11e3-b4cb-fd7ce041d814_story.html|access-date=August 31, 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 29, 2013|first1=Craig |last1=Whitlock |first2=Barton |last2=Gellman}}</ref>
===Role of Pakistan===
]
{{See also|Allegations of support system in Pakistan for Osama bin Laden|Pakistan and state terrorism}}
Pakistan's role in the operation was criticized by many people around the world. Pakistan defended its role and stated that it had no prior information that bin Laden was in Abbottābad.


The design of bin Laden's compound may have ultimately contributed to his discovery. A former CIA official involved in the ] told ''The Washington Post'': "The place was three ] high, and you could watch it from a variety of angles."<ref name="waposurveil" />
====Allegations against Pakistan====
Numerous allegations were made that the government of Pakistan shielded bin Laden.<ref name="LAT20110502"/><ref name="wsj20110503"/><ref name="indianexpress1"/> Critics cited the very close proximity of bin Laden's heavily fortified compound to the ] (Pakistan's "]"), that the United States chose not to notify Pakistani authorities before the operation, and the alleged double standards of Pakistan regarding the perpetrators of the ].<ref name="indianexpress1"/><ref name="ref-61"/><ref name="ref-62"/><ref name="ref-63"/> U.S. government files leaked by ] disclosed that American diplomats were told that Pakistani security services were tipping off bin Laden every time U.S. forces approached. Pakistan's ] (ISI) also helped smuggle al Qaeda militants into Afghanistan to fight ] troops. According to the leaked files, in December 2009, the ] had told U.S. officials that many in Pakistan were aware of bin Laden's whereabouts.<ref name="DT20110502"/>


The CIA used a process called "]ing" on the collected intelligence to independently review the circumstantial evidence and available facts of their case that bin Laden was living at the Abbottabad compound.<ref name="sfgredteam" /> An administration official said, "We conducted red-team exercises and other forms of alternative analysis to check our work. No other candidate fit the bill as well as bin Laden did."<ref name="timered" />
In his first interview after the operation, CIA chief ] said that the CIA had ruled out involving Pakistan in the operation, fearing that "any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission. They might alert the targets."<ref name="time20110503">{{cite news|url=http://swampland.time.com/2011/05/03/cia-chief-breaks-silence-u-s-ruled-out-involving-pakistan-in-bin-laden-raid-early-on/|title=CIA Chief Breaks Silence: Pakistan Would Have Jeopardized bin Laden Raid, ‘Impressive’ Intel Captured|last=Calabresi|first=Massimo|date=May 3, 2011|work=TIME|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref> However, Secretary of State ] stated that "cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound in which he was hiding".<ref name="ref-86"/> Obama echoed her sentiments.<ref name="Walsh"/>


Despite what officials described as an extraordinarily concentrated collection effort leading up to the operation, no U.S. spy agency was ever able to capture a photograph of bin Laden at the compound before the raid or a recording of the voice of the mysterious male figure whose family occupied the structure's top two floors.<ref name="waposurveil" />
U.S. Senator ], chairman of the ], said "This is going to be a time of real pressure on Pakistan to basically prove to us that they didn’t know that bin Laden was there".<ref name="dawn20110502y"/> ], Obama's chief counterterrorism advisor, said that it was inconceivable that bin Laden did not have support from within Pakistan. He further stated "People have been referring to this as hiding in plain sight. We are looking at how he was able to hide out there for so long."<ref name="Guard20110502"/> Senator ] said that "it's hard for me to understand how the Pakistanis ... would not know what was going on inside the compound", and that top Pakistan officials may be "walking both sides of the street."<ref name="MH20110502"/> Senator ] questioned, "How could be in such a compound without being noticed?", raising suspicions that Pakistan was either uncommitted in the fight against Islamist militants or was actively sheltering them while pledging to fight them.<ref name="wp20110502"/> A Pakistani intelligence official said that they had passed on raw phone tap data to U.S. that led to the operation, but had failed to analyze this data themselves.<ref name="cnn20110502"/>


== Operation Neptune Spear ==
] ] said that bin Laden hiding "deep inside" Pakistan was a matter of grave concern for India, and showed that "many of the perpetrators of the ], including the controllers and the handlers of the terrorists who actually carried out the attack, continue to be sheltered in Pakistan". He called on Pakistan to arrest them.<ref>{{cite news|title=India Uses Osama Death to Pressure Pakistan|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704569404576298211101277924.html|date=May 2, 2011|work=The Wall Street Journal |first=Tom|last=Wright}}</ref>
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Operation Neptune Spear
| partof = the ] and the ]
| image = {{Location map+|Pakistan|width=300|float=center|relief = 1|border=infobox|caption=|places={{Location map~|Pakistan|lat=34.17|long=73.23|label=]|position=right|mark=Red pog.svg}}{{Location map~|Pakistan|lat=33.7|long=73.06|label=]|position=bottom right|mark=Green pog.svg}}{{Location map~|Pakistan|lat=34.31|long=70.31|label=]|position=left|mark=Airplane silhouette.svg}}{{Location map~|Pakistan|lat=34.95|long=69.27|label=]|position=left|mark=Airplane silhouette.svg}}{{Location map~|Pakistan|lat=24.43|long=62.00|label=]|position=right|mark=Blue pog.svg}}}}
| caption = {{center|Map of ]:}}] is {{convert|34|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} from the capital ], {{convert|167|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} from ] and {{convert|232|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} from ]. Bagram is about {{convert|850|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} from the ] (straight line distances, as travel distances significantly more), where the burial took place.
| date = May 1–2, 2011<br />(1 day)
| place = ], ], ], Pakistan
| coordinates = {{Coord|34|10|9|N|73|14|33|E|type:event_region:PK-KP|display=inline,title}}
| result = American victory
* End of the ]
| combatant1 = {{flag|United States}}
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}}&nbsp;]
| commander1 = {{unbulletedlist
| ]
| ]
| Adm. ]}}
| commander2 = {{unbulletedlist
| ]{{KIA}}
| ]{{KIA}}}}
| strength1 = 79 ] and ] operatives<br />1 ] (])<br />5 helicopters
| strength2 = '''Potential/confirmed combatants:'''<br />9 adults (4 men, 5 women)<hr>'''Non-combatants:'''<br />13 children
| casualties1 = 1 helicopter crashed (no casualties)
| casualties2 = 5 killed (4 men, 1 woman)<br />17 captured (incl. 1 injured)
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Waziristan}}
}}


The official mission ] was Operation Neptune Spear.<ref name="deadlyraid" /> ] spear is the ], which appears on the U.S. Navy's ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=5201 - Breast Insignia |url=https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/References/US-Navy-Uniforms/Uniform-Regulations/Chapter-5/5201-Breast-Insignia/#Special%20Warfare%20(SEAL) |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=www.mynavyhr.navy.mil}}</ref>
Pakistani-born British ] ] stated that he was "flabbergasted and shocked" after he learned that bin Laden was living in a city with thousands of Pakistani troops, reviving questions about alleged links between al Qaeda and elements in Pakistan's security forces.<ref name="ind20110502"/>


=== Objective ===
'']'' reported that the compound where bin Laden was killed had previously been used as a ] by Pakistan's ] (ISI), but was no longer being used for this purpose.<ref name="GN20110503"/> '']'' reported local police saying that the compound belonged to ], a militant group supported by ISI which is fighting Indian forces in Kashmir.<ref name="GAM20110503">{{cite news|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americas/bin-laden-given-haven-by-militants-linked-to-pakistani-security-forces/article2009083/|title=Bin Laden given haven by militants linked to Pakistani security forces|last=Smith|first=Graeme|date=May 3, 2011|work=The Globe and Mail |location=Canada |accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref>
The ] reported at the time two U.S. officials as stating the operation was "a kill-or-capture mission, since the U.S. doesn't kill unarmed people trying to surrender," but that "it was clear from the beginning that whoever was behind those walls had no intention of surrendering."<ref name="aprisks" /> ] ] said after the raid: "If we had the opportunity to take bin Laden alive, if he didn't present any threat, the individuals involved were able and prepared to do that."<ref name="stormedroom" /> CIA Director ] said on '']'': "The authority here was to kill bin Laden.&nbsp;... Obviously under the ], if he in fact had thrown up his hands, surrendered and didn't appear to be representing any kind of threat, then they were to capture him. But, they had full authority to kill him."<ref name="pbsinterview" /> A U.S. national security official, who was not named, told ] that "This was a kill operation."<ref name="commandos" /> Another official said that when the SEALS were told "We think we found Osama bin Laden, and your job is to kill him," they started to cheer.<ref name="politico1" /> An article published in '']'' in 2016 surveyed various published accounts and interpretations of the objective of the mission and concluded that "the capture option was mainly there for appearance's sake and to fulfill requirements of ] and that everyone involved considered it for all practical purposes a mission to kill."<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.psqonline.org/article.cfm?IDArticle=19545 | title=Decision Making in Using Assassinations in International Relations | journal=] | volume=131| issue=3 | date=Fall 2016 | page=528| author-last=Schilling | author-first=Warner R. | author2-last= Schilling | author2-first=Jonathan L. |doi = 10.1002/polq.12487 |issn=0032-3195}}</ref>


=== Planning and final decision ===
====Pakistani response====
The CIA briefed ] ], the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), about the compound in January 2011. The admiral was both a student and practitioner of special operations, having published a thesis on the subject during the 1990s. His theory held that special operations had the potential to be very effective in achieving their goal if they were organized and commanded by special operations professionals rather than being subsumed into larger military units or operations. He believed that such actions required that "relative superiority" be gained during the operation in question via characteristics such as simplicity, security, rehearsals, surprise, speed, and a clearly-but-narrowly defined purpose.<ref name="theory-special" />
According to a Pakistani intelligence official, raw phone-tap data had been transferred to the United States without being analyzed by Pakistan. While the U.S. "was concentrating on this" information since September 2010, information regarding bin Laden and the compound's inhabitants had "slipped from" Pakistan's "radar" over the months. Bin Laden left "an invisible footprint" and he had not been contacting other militant networks. It was noted that much focus had been placed on a courier entering and leaving the compound. The transfer of intelligence to the U.S. was a regular occurrence according to the official, who also stated regarding the raid that "I think they came in undetected and went out the same day", and Pakistan did not believe that U.S. personnel were present in the area before the special operation occurred.<ref name="Walsh"/>


In this case, McRaven said a commando raid would be fairly straightforward but he was concerned about the Pakistani response. He assigned a captain from the ] to work with a CIA team at their campus in ]. The captain, named "Brian", set up an office in the printing plant in the CIA's Langley compound and, with six other JSOC officers, began to plan the raid.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /> Administration attorneys considered legal implications and options before the raid.<ref>{{cite news|title=Before Osama bin Laden Raid, Obama Administration's Secret Legal Deliberations|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/us/politics/obama-legal-authorization-osama-bin-laden-raid.html|work=]|date=October 28, 2015|access-date=October 28, 2015|issn=0362-4331|first=Charlie|last=Savage}}</ref>
According to the Pakistani high commissioner to the United Kingdom, ], Pakistan had prior knowledge that an operation would happen. Pakistan was "in the know of certain things" and "what happened happened with our consent. Americans got to know him—where he was first—and that's why they struck it and struck it precisely." Husain Haqqani, Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., had said that Pakistan would have pursued bin Laden had the intelligence of his location existed with them and Pakistan was "very glad that our American partners did. They had superior intelligence, superior technology, and we are grateful to them."<ref name="Walsh"/>


In addition to a helicopter raid, planners considered attacking the compound with ] stealth bombers. They also considered a joint operation with Pakistani forces. Obama decided that the Pakistani government and military could not be trusted to maintain ] for the operation against bin Laden. "There was a real lack of confidence that the Pakistanis could keep this secret for more than a nanosecond", a senior adviser to the President told '']''.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" />
Another Pakistani official stated that Pakistan "assisted only in terms of authorization of the helicopter flights in our airspace" and the operation was conducted by the United States. He also said that "in any event, we did not want anything to do with such an operation in case something went wrong."<ref name="Walsh"/>


Obama met with the ] on March 14 to review the options; he was concerned that the mission would be exposed and wanted to proceed quickly. For that reason he ruled out involving the Pakistanis. Defense Secretary ] and other military officials expressed doubts as to whether bin Laden was in the compound, and whether a commando raid was worth the risk. At the end of the meeting, the president seemed to be leaning toward a bombing mission. Two ] officers were tasked with exploring that option further.<ref name="spymilitary" />
==Operation Neptune's Spear==
{{operational plan
| name =Operation Neptune's Spear
| partof =the ]
| image ={{Location map+|Pakistan|width=250|float=center|border=none|caption=|places=
{{Location map~|Pakistan|lat=34.17|long=73.23|label=Abbottābad|position=right|mark=Green pog.svg}}
{{Location map~|Pakistan|lat=33.7|long=73.06|label=Islamabad|position=left|mark=Red pog.svg}}}}
| caption =Map of Pakistan showing Abbottābad (green), where bin Laden was killed, and the capital, Islamabad (red). Abbottābad is {{convert|32|mi}} north of Islamabad.
| scope =Tactical
| type =Air and Ground Raid
| location =], ], ], Pakistan
| coordinates={{Coord|34|10|9|N|73|14|33|E|type:landmark_region:PK}}
| map_type =
| latitude =
| longitude =
| map_size =
| map_caption=
| map_label =
| planned =
| planned_by ={{Unbulleted list|]|]}}
| objective =Kill or capture Osama bin Laden<ref name="ref-92"/>
| target =
| date ={{Start date|2011|05|02}}
| time =01:00 ]
| time-begin =
| time-end =
| timezone =]
| executed_by=]
| outcome =Osama bin Laden, one of his sons, his courier, the courier's male relative, and one woman are killed
| casualties =
| fatalities =5
| injuries =2
}}
===Objective===
According to the ], "Officially, it was a kill-or-capture mission, since the U.S. doesn't kill unarmed people trying to surrender. But it was clear from the beginning that whoever was behind those walls had no intention of surrendering, two U.S. officials said."<ref name="aprisks"/>


The CIA was unable to rule out the existence of an underground ] below the compound. Presuming that one existed, 32 {{convert|2000|lb|adj=on}} bombs fitted with ] guidance systems would be required to destroy it.<ref name="behindthehunt" /> With that amount of ], at least one other house was in the ]. Estimates were that up to a dozen civilians would be killed in addition to those in the compound. Furthermore, the evidence that bin Laden was dead would have been obliterated. Presented with this information at the next Security Council meeting on March 29, Obama put the bombing plan on hold. Instead he directed Admiral McRaven to develop the plan for a helicopter raid. The U.S. intelligence community also studied an option of hitting bin Laden with a drone-fired ] as he paced in his compound's vegetable garden.<ref name="Bowden144">{{cite magazine |last=Bowden |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Bowden |title=The Hunt For 'Geronimo' |magazine=] |date=November 2012 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/politics/2012/11/inside-osama-bin-laden-assassination-plot|access-date=January 27, 2012}}, p.&nbsp;144</ref>
ABC News wrote, after the fact, "As CIA director ] explained to ]' ]''],<ref name="pbsinterview">{{cite news|url=http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/jan-june11/panetta_05-03.html| title = CIA Chief Panetta: Obama Made 'Gutsy' Decision on Bin Laden Raid|date=May 3, 2011|publication=PBS News Hour|author=Jim Lehrer}}</ref> 'The authority here was to kill bin Laden. And obviously under the rules of engagement, if he in fact had thrown up his hands and surrendered and didn't appear to represent any kind of threat then they were to capture him. But they had full authority to kill him.' ... And they did. He was unarmed, but he resisted capture, his wife rushed a Navy SEAL, and there was no way the SEALs could have known in that split second whether bin Laden or the room was ] in any way."<ref name="abcnewskillmission"/>


McRaven hand-picked a team consisting the most experienced and senior operators from ],<ref name="RelentStrike">{{cite book|last1=Naylor|first1=Sean|title=Relentless Strike|chapter=Chapter 27}}</ref> one of four that make up DEVGRU. Red Squadron was coming home from Afghanistan and could be redirected without attracting attention. The team had language skills and experience with cross-border operations into Pakistan.<ref name="spymilitary" /> Almost all the Red Squadron operators had ten or more deployments to Afghanistan.<ref name="NoEasyDay">{{cite book|last1=Bissonnette|first1=Mark|title=No Easy Day|pages=158, 85–86}}</ref>
] ] stated after the raid that "If we had the opportunity to take bin Laden alive, if he didn't present any threat, the individuals involved were able and prepared to do that."<ref name="ref-92" /> However, another U.S. national security official, who was not named, told ] that "'This was a kill operation,' making clear there was no desire to try to capture bin Laden alive in Pakistan."<ref name = "HuffPost">{{cite news |work=Huffington Post |location=USA|date= May 2, 2011 | url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead-kill_n_856211.html|title = Osama bin Laden dead}}</ref> Another source referencing a ''kill'' (rather than ''capture'' order) states, "Officials described the reaction of the special operators when they were told a number of weeks ago that they had been chosen to train for the mission. 'They were told, "We think we found Osama bin Laden, and your job is to kill him,"' an official recalled. The SEALs started to cheer."<ref name="politico1"/>


Without being told the exact nature of their mission, the team performed rehearsals of the raid in two locations in the U.S.—around April 10 at ] facility in ] where a 1:1 version of bin Laden's compound was built ({{Coord|36|05|57.9|N|76|20|55.7|W}}),<ref>{{cite news |last=Farber |first=Dan |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57529010-93/bing-map-shows-cias-secret-bin-laden-compound-mock-up/ |title=Bing map shows CIA's secret Bin Laden compound mock-up |work=] |date=May 25, 2012 |access-date=October 10, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Hudson |url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/10/satellite-images-capture-cias-secret-bin-laden-training-facility/57771/ |title=Satellite Images of the CIA's Secret Bin Laden Training Facility |work=] |date=February 15, 2011 |access-date=October 10, 2012 |archive-date=October 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010205802/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/10/satellite-images-capture-cias-secret-bin-laden-training-facility/57771/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and April 18 in ].<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /><ref name="behindthehunt" /> The location in Nevada was at {{convert|4,000|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}} elevation—chosen to test the effects the ] would have on the raiders' helicopters. The Nevada mock-up used ]s to simulate the compound walls, which left the U.S. participants unaware of the potential effects of the high compound walls on the helicopters' lift capabilities.<ref name="Bowden144" />
===Planning===
After an intelligence-gathering effort on the courier's Pakistan compound that began September 2010, Obama met with his national security advisers on March 14 to create an action plan. They met four more times (March 29, April 12, April 19 and April 28) in the six weeks before the raid, including once on March 29, 2011 when Obama personally discussed the plan with ] ], the commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command.<ref name="MazzettiCooper"/><ref name="abcnews1"/> "Many multiple possible courses of action" were presented to Obama in March and "refined over the course of the next several weeks."<ref name="ref-87"/>


Planners believed the SEALs could get to Abbottabad and back without being challenged by the Pakistani military. The helicopters (modified ]) to be used in the raid had been designed to be quiet and to have low radar visibility. Since the U.S. had helped equip and train the Pakistanis, their defensive capabilities were known. (The U.S. had supplied ] to Pakistan on the condition they were kept at a Pakistani military base under 24-hour U.S. surveillance.)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gorman |first1=Siobhan |last2=Barnes |first2=Julian E. |title=Spy, Military Ties Aided bin Laden Raid |work=The Wall Street Journal Online |access-date=September 24, 2011 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704083904576334160172068344 |date=May 23, 2011}}</ref>
The first approach considered by U.S. officials was to bomb the house using ] ] ]s, which could drop 32<ref name="ref-106"/> 2,000-pound ]s (JDAMs). Obama rejected this option, opting for a raid that would provide definitive proof that bin Laden was inside, and limit civilian casualties.<ref name="ref-87"/> Another one of the "courses of action" (COA) suggested by JSOC was "a joint raid with Pakistani intelligence operatives who would be told about the mission hours before the launch."<ref name="ref-106"/> Deploying drones was apparently not a feasible approach, in part because of limited firepower and in part because the compound's location was "within the Pakistan air defense intercept zone for the national capital."<ref name="ref-88"/><ref name="ref-89"/><ref name="ref-90"/>


If bin Laden surrendered, he would be held near ]. If the SEALs were discovered by the Pakistanis in the middle of the raid, ] Chairman Admiral ] would call Pakistan's army chief General ] and try to negotiate their release.<ref name="targetchapter6" />
The commando-led course of action (COA) had multiple risks, including the fact that the extensive preparation and training necessary to pull it off "provided greater chances for information to leak out over the ensuing months, scuttling the mission and sending bin Laden deeper into hiding."<ref name=aprisks>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/04/bin-laden-mission-risk-obama_n_857320.html|title=Osama Bin Laden Death: Obama Ran Serious Risks With Mission To Kill Terrorist Leader|agency=Associated Press|author=LOLITA C. BALDOR}}</ref>


When the National Security Council (NSC) met again on April 19, Obama gave provisional approval for the helicopter raid. Worried that the plan for dealing with the Pakistanis was too uncertain, Obama asked Admiral McRaven to equip the team to fight its way out if necessary.<ref name="spymilitary" />
Members of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group began training for the raid (the objective of which remained unknown to them) after the March 22 national security meeting, "holding dry runs at training facilities on both American coasts, which were made up to resemble the compound."<ref name="ref-106"/> As plans progressed through the month of April, the DEVGRU SEALs began more specific training exercises on a one-acre replica of the Waziristan Haveli that was built inside Camp Alpha, a restricted section of the ] in Afghanistan.<ref name="nationaljournal.com"/><ref name="nationaljournal.com"/><ref name="blogs.abcnews.com"/> According to '']'', 24 Navy SEALs carried out practice runs on April 7 and April 13.<ref name="ref-91"/>


McRaven and the SEALs left for Afghanistan to practice at a {{convert|1|acre|m2|adj=on|spell=in}}, full-scale replica of the compound built on a restricted area of Bagram known as Camp Alpha.<ref name="fortbragg" /><ref name="secretteam" /> The team departed the U.S. from ] on April 26 in a C-17 aircraft, refueled on the ground at ] in Germany, landed at ], then moved to Jalalabad on April 27.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" />
On April 29, at 8:20&nbsp;am, Obama convened with Brennan, ], and other national security advisers in the ] and gave the final order to raid the Abbottābad compound. A senior administration official told reporters after the operation was completed that the ] had not been informed of the operation in advance.<ref name="ref-93"/>


On April 28, Admiral Mullen explained the final plan to the NSC. As a measure to bolster the "fight your way out" scenario, ]s were to be positioned nearby with additional troops. The greater part of the advisers in the meeting supported going forward with the raid. Vice President ] laid out the risk of it going wrong and the potential for confrontation with the Pakistanis. According to Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications ], "I don't remember it as being firmly against as much as it being about like, 'I'm going to point out the downsides that you need to consider from the perspective of Pakistan'{{nbsp}}... Biden was just trying to make sure that Obama had a bunch of room for his decision-making."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/04/30/osama-bin-laden-death-white-house-oral-history-484793|title='I'd Never Been Involved in Anything as Secret as This'|first=Garrett M.|last=Graff|website=POLITICO|date=April 30, 2021 }}</ref> Gates advocated using the drone-missile option but changed his support the next day to the helicopter-raid plan. Obama said he wanted to speak directly to Admiral McRaven before he gave the order to proceed. The president asked if McRaven had learned anything since arriving in Afghanistan that caused him to lose confidence in the mission. McRaven told him the team was ready and that the next few nights would have a ],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-06-13 |title=NASA Scientific Visualization Studio {{!}} Moon Phase and Libration, 2011 |url=https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3810 |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=SVS}}</ref> good conditions for a raid.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /><ref name="Bowden144" />
The raid planned for that day was postponed until the following day due to cloudy weather.<ref name="ref-94"/>


On April 29 at 8:20&nbsp;a.m. ],<ref name=targetchapter6 /> Obama conferred with his advisers and gave the final go-ahead. The raid would take place the following day. That evening the president was informed that the operation would be delayed one day due to cloudy weather.
===Execution of the operation===
====Approach and entry====
], showing the high concrete walls that surround the compound]]
After President Obama authorized the mission to kill or capture Osama bin Laden, ] ] gave the go-ahead at midday on May 1.<ref name="ref-95"/>


On April 30, Obama called McRaven one more time to wish the SEALs well and to thank them for their service.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /> That evening, the President attended the annual ] dinner, which was hosted by comedian and television actor ]. At one point, Meyers joked: "People think bin Laden is hiding in the ], but did you know that every day from four to five he hosts a show on ]?" Obama laughed, despite his knowledge of the operation to come.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Carbone |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Carbone |title=Obama's Poker Face: President Reacts to Bin Laden Joke at Correspondents' Dinner |magazine=] |date=May 2011 |url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2011/05/02/obamas-poker-face-president-reacts-to-bin-laden-joke-at-correspondents-dinner/|access-date=June 15, 2013}}</ref>
The raid was carried out by 24<ref name="ST6return"/> helicopter-borne ] from the ] (DEVGRU) of the ], temporarily transferred to the control of the ]. The DEVGRU SEALs operated in two teams of 12 each.<ref name="nbcpentagon"/> According to ''The New York Times'', a total of "79 commandos and a ]" were involved in the raid.<ref name="ref-96"/> Additional personnel on the mission included "tactical signals, intelligence collectors, and navigators using ] ]."<ref name="nationaljournal.com"/>


On May 1 at 1:22&nbsp;p.m., Panetta, acting on the president's orders, directed McRaven to move forward with the operation. Shortly after 3&nbsp;p.m., the president joined national security officials in the ] to monitor the raid. They watched ] images taken from a ] while Panetta, appearing in the corner of the screen from CIA headquarters, narrated what was happening.<ref name="Bowden144" /><ref name="targetchapter6" /> Video links with Panetta at CIA headquarters and McRaven in Afghanistan were set up in the Situation Room. In an adjoining office was the live drone feed presented on a laptop computer operated by Brigadier General ], assistant commander of JSOC. Secretary of State ] was one of those in the Situation Room, and described it like this: "Contrary to some news reports and what you see in the movies, we had no means to see what was happening inside the building itself. All we could do was wait for an update from the team on the ground. I looked at the President. He was calm. Rarely have I been prouder to serve by his side as I was that day."<ref>quotes from Hillary Clinton's book, ''Hard Choices'', as quoted in ''Daily Telegraph'', June 10, 2014</ref> Two other command centers monitored the raid from the U.S. Department of Defense headquarters at ] and the ].<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" />
The SEALs flew into Pakistan from ], Afghanistan. (Previous reports indicated that they may have staged through ] in northwest Pakistan, but Pakistan has denied that the U.S. used a location in Pakistan to launch the raid.<ref name="Roggio_20110503">Roggio, Bill, , '']'', May 3, 2011.</ref><ref name="dailymail1"/><ref name="autogenerated2">Martin, David, '']'', May 3, 2011.</ref>)


According to Adm. McRaven, just before the mission launch Command Sergeant Major Chris Faris quoted the British ] motto to his men: "Who dares wins."<ref>{{Cite book |last=McRaven |first=William H. |title=Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World |date=2017 |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |isbn=978-1-4555-7024-9 |edition= |location=New York |lccn=2016056534 |oclc=989719336}}</ref>
The ], an airborne unit of the ] sometimes called the "Nighthawks," provided two modified ], and two ] as backups.<ref name="blogs.abcnews.com"/><ref name="politico1"/><ref name="nationaljournal.com"/><ref name="ref-23"/><ref name="autogenerated2"/> The Black Hawks may have been never-before-publicly-seen "stealth" versions of the helicopter.<ref name="autogenerated3">Ross, Brian, '']'', May 4, 2011.</ref> The 160th SOAR helicopters were supported by multiple other aircraft, including fixed-wing fighter jets and ].<ref name="ref-24"/> According to CNN, "The ] also had a full team of combat search-and-rescue helicopters available."<ref name="ref-24"/>


== Execution of the operation ==
The raid was scheduled for a time with little ] so the helicopters could enter Pakistan "low to the ground and undetected,"<ref name="http"/> and the helicopters used hilly terrain and ] techniques to reach the compound without appearing on radar and alerting the Pakistani military. Once the raid began, the Pakistani military scrambled their fighter jets but did not interfere with the raid.<ref name="Roggio_20110503"/> According to ], Pakistan was informed by the U.S. about the raid once it had started, but was asked to stay out of the way.<ref>Roggio, Bill, , '']'', May 2, 2011.</ref>
=== Approach and entry ===
], showing the high concrete walls that surrounded the compound]]
The raid was carried out by approximately two dozen heliborne ] from ]'s Red Squadron. For legal reasons (namely that the U.S. was not ] with Pakistan), the military personnel assigned to the mission were temporarily transferred to the control of the civilian Central Intelligence Agency.<ref name="soldierspy" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42852700 |title=US forces kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan |publisher=] |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 22, 2011}}</ref>


The SEALs operated in teams and used weapons including the ]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/washington-whispers/articles/2011/05/11/the-gun-that-killed-osama-bin-laden-revealed |title=The Gun That Killed Osama bin Laden Revealed |work=] |date=May 11, 2011 |access-date=July 6, 2011}}</ref> ] (their primary weapon), the ] for ], and the ]<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /> personal defense weapon, which is used by some SEALs for close quarters and greater silence.
The DEVGRU operators ]d out of the Blackhawks. After the operators were on the ground, one of the hovering helicopters ],<ref name=abcnewsunarmed>{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-unarmed-killed-white-house/story?id=13520152&page=2|title=Osama Bin Laden Unarmed When Killed, White House Says|date=May 3, 2011 }}</ref> in a vortex created by its own ] and the high compound walls<ref name="ref-97"/>. After the helicopter stalled, it "grazed one of the compound's walls"<ref name="nbcpentagon"/> "breaking a ]<ref name="ST6return"/>." The helicopter "rolled onto its side"<ref name=apcallcrash>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead-one-phone-call_n_856674.html|title=Osama Bin Laden Dead: How One Phone Call Led U.S. To Bin Laden's Doorstep|authors=ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZO|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> during an emergency landing.


According to ''The New York Times'', a total of "79 commandos and a dog" were involved in the raid.<ref name="ref-96" /> The ]<ref name="seal" /> was a ] named Cairo.<ref name="dogname" /> According to one report, the dog was tasked with tracking "anyone who tried to escape and to alert SEALs to any approaching Pakistani security forces."<ref name="oneshotdeal" /> The dog was to be used to help deter any Pakistani ground response to the raid and to help look for any hidden rooms or hidden doors in the compound.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /> Additional personnel on the mission included a language interpreter,<ref name="oneshotdeal" /> the dog handler, helicopter pilots, plus intelligence collectors, and navigators using ] ] to view the operation.<ref name="secretteam" />
At approximately 1:00&nbsp;a.m. local time (20:00, May&nbsp;1 UTC),<ref name="ref-19"/><ref name="Ross"/> the SEALs breached the compound's walls using explosives.<ref name="ref-98"/><ref name="autogenerated2"/>


The SEALs flew into Pakistan from a staging base in the city of ] in eastern Afghanistan after originating at ] in northeastern Afghanistan.<ref>Woodward, Calvin, "", '']'', May 4, 2011.</ref> The ], a ] unit known as the "]," provided the two modified ] helicopters<ref>{{cite web |first=Max |last=Behrman |url=https://gizmodo.com/5797783/the-berzerker-black-hawk-helicopter-that-helped-kill-osama-bin-laden |title=The Berzerker Black Hawk Helicopter That Helped Kill Osama bin Laden |publisher=] |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 12, 2011 |archive-date=June 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607191626/http://gizmodo.com/5797783/the-berzerker-black-hawk-helicopter-that-helped-kill-osama-bin-laden |url-status=dead }}</ref> that were used for the raid itself, as well as the much larger ] ] that were employed as backups.<ref name="politico1" /><ref name="secretteam" /><ref name="oneshotdeal" />
====Combat====
Encounters between the operators and the residents took place in the guest house, in the main building on the first floor, where two adult males lived, and on the second and third floors, where bin Laden lived with his family. The second and third floors were the last section of the compound to be cleared.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>


The Black Hawks were previously unseen "stealth" versions that flew more quietly and were harder to detect on ] than conventional models;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/world/asia/06helicopter.html |title=Attack on Bin Laden Used Stealthy Helicopter That Had Been a Secret |first=Christopher |last=Drew |work=The New York Times |date=May 5, 2011 |access-date=May 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="dangerroomstealth" /> due to the extra weight of the stealth equipment, their cargo was "calculated to the ounce, with the weather factored in."<ref name="oneshotdeal" />
According to NBC News and the ''New York Times'', the only "firefight" took place between the first team of DEVGRU SEALs and the armed courier, who lived in the guesthouse. A female, identified by some as the courier's wife, was killed during this exchange. The courier's relative and bin Laden's son were both killed in the main house by the second team of DEVGRU SEALs, the relative on the first floor, and the son on the staircase.<ref name="nbcpentagon">{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42906279/ns/world_news-death_of_bin_laden/|title=Bin Laden 'firefight': Only one man was armed|author=Jim Miklaszewski|date=May 4, 2011}}</ref><ref name="nytonesided">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/us/politics/05binladen.html|title=Account Tells of One-Sided Battle in Bin Laden Raid|date=May 5, 2011|coauthors=MARK LANDLER and MARK MAZZETTI}}</ref>


The Chinooks kept on standby were on the ground "in a deserted area roughly two-thirds of the way" from Jalalabad to Abbottabad, with two additional SEAL teams consisting of approximately 24 DEVGRU operators<ref name="oneshotdeal" /> for a ]. The Chinooks were equipped with 7.62mm ] and ]/B .50-caliber machine guns and extra fuel for the Black Hawks. Their mission was to interdict any Pakistani military attempts to interfere with the raid. Other Chinooks, holding 25 more SEALs from DEVGRU, were stationed just across the border in Afghanistan in case reinforcements were needed during the operation.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" />
The SEALs encountered and captured personnel in the compound, including women and children, who were restrained with plastic ]s or ]<ref name="nbcpentagon"/> and left in place until the raid was over, at which point the SEALs moved them all outside<ref>Benac, Nancy (]). , ]. May 3, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2011.</ref> "for Pakistani forces to discover."<ref name="nbcpentagon"/>


The 160th SOAR helicopters were supported by an array of other aircraft, to include ] and ].<ref name="ref-24" /> According to ], "the ] had a full team of combat ] helicopters available."<ref name="ref-24" />
Bin Laden and the DEVGRU team encountered each other on the second floor<ref name="montrealtechnology">{{cite news|url=http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Laden+Obama+team+drama+unfold/4720187/story.html|title=Bin Laden: How Obama team saw drama unfold|publication=Montreal Gazette|coauthors=MARTIN EVANS AND GORDON RAYNER|date=May 3, 2011}}</ref> or third floor<ref name="nbcpentagon"/> of the residence; bin Laden was "wearing the local loose-fitting tunic and pants known as a '']''"<ref name="ref-106"/>. He was later found to
have ] and two phone numbers stitched into his clothes.<ref name=abcnewsmoney>{{cite web|title=Osama Bin Laden Escape Plan: Money Found Stitched in Bin Laden's Clothes|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/osama-bin-laden-escape-plan-money-stitched-clothes/story?id=13525344|publisher=ABC|accessdate=May 4, 2011|coauthors=Martha Raddatz, Jake Tapper and Jessica Hopper|date=4|month=May|year=2011}}</ref>


The raid was scheduled for a time with little moonlight so the helicopters could enter Pakistan "low to the ground and undetected."<ref name="ref-87" /> The helicopters used hilly terrain and ] techniques to reach the compound without appearing on radar and alerting the Pakistani military. The flight from Jalalabad to Abbottabad took about 90 minutes.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" />
Although there were weapons in the room, including an ] and ]<ref name="nytonesided"/>, bin Laden was unarmed at the the time he was shot.<ref name="abcnews2">{{cite web|author=Brian Ross|coauthors=Lee Ferran|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-unarmed-killed-white-house/story?id=13520152|title=Osama Bin Laden Unarmed When Killed, White House Says|publisher=ABC News|date=May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


According to the mission plan, the first helicopter would hover over the compound's yard while its full team of SEALs ]d to the ground. At the same time, the second helicopter would fly to the northeast corner of the compound and deploy the interpreter, the dog and handler, and four SEALs to secure the perimeter. The team in the courtyard was to enter the house from the ground floor.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zaaph.com/laden-mission-obama/ |title=Bin Laden mission was roll of the dice for Obama |publisher=Zaaph |access-date=May 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517034208/http://www.zaaph.com/laden-mission-obama/|archive-date=May 17, 2011}}</ref>
"The encounter with bin Laden lasted only seconds," according to Politico, and took place during "the last five or 10 minutes" of the raid.<ref name="politico1"/> Bin Laden was killed by at least one and possibly two American bullets, one of which struck the left side of his head, another shot was widely reported to be a bullet to the chest.


As they hovered above the target the first helicopter experienced a hazardous airflow condition known as a ]. This was aggravated by higher-than-expected air temperature<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /> and the high compound walls, which stopped the ] from diffusing.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-05/commando-black-hawk-downed-by-air-vortex-not-mechanics-in-bin-laden-raid.html|title=Helicopter Carrying SEALs Downed by Vortex, Not Mechanical Flaw or Gunfire|last=Capaccio|first=Tony|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|date= May 5, 2011}}</ref><ref name="ref-97" /> The helicopter's tail grazed one of the compound's walls,<ref name="nbcpentagon" /> damaging its ],<ref name="ST6return" /> and the helicopter rolled onto its side.<ref name="phonecall" /> The pilot quickly buried the helicopter's nose to keep it from tipping over.<ref name="oneshotdeal" /> None of the SEALs, crew, or pilots were seriously injured in the soft crash landing, which resulted in the helicopter resting against the wall, pitched at a 45-degree angle.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /> The other helicopter landed outside the compound, and the SEALs scaled the walls to get inside.<ref name="graphic" /> The SEALs advanced into the house, breaching walls and doors with explosives.<ref name="oneshotdeal" />
Three men other than Osama bin Laden and a woman present at the compound were reportedly killed in the operation. The individuals were said to be bin Laden's adult son (likely ]<ref name="ref-106"/><ref name="telegraphhamza">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488238/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-son-and-presumed-heir-also-killed-in-raid.html|title=Osama bin Laden dead: son and presumed heir also killed in raid|date=May 2, 2011|publisher=Daily Telegraph}}</ref>; some sources call him Khalid<ref name="nytonesided"/>), the courier Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, the courier's relative <ref name="nytcompoundreporting">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/world/asia/04compound.html|title=Behind High Walls, Model Neighbors Were Harboring a Fugitive|publication=New York Times|coauthors=Carlotta Gall, Salman Masood, Salman Masood|date=May 3, 2011}}</ref> and the courier's wife. However, Pakistani sources told the ''New York Times'' that the dead were all male.<ref name="nytpakinvest"/>


=== Entry into the house ===
In addition to the five fatalities, two other women were injured.<ref name="ref-31"/> According to ABC News, bin Laden's fifth wife, ],<ref name="abcnews5thwife">{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/young-wife-defended-osama-bin-laden-navy-seals/story?id=13525087|title=The Young Wife Who Defended Osama Bin Laden|author=]|publisher=ABC News|date=May 4, 2011}}</ref> was one of the injured women; "When the SEALs entered the room in which bin Laden was hiding, his wife charged them and was shot in the leg."<ref name="abcnews2"/> Bin Laden's 12-year-old daughter also saw him killed.<ref name="BBC_Intel_Failure"/><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/04/osama-bin-laden-pakistan-us | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Declan | last=Walsh | title=Osama bin Laden killing prompts US-Pakistan war of words}}</ref>
]'': The U.S. national security team, with President ], Vice President ] (left), and Secretary of State ], gathered in the ] to monitor the progress of the operation]]
The SEALs encountered the residents in the compound's guest house, in its main building on the first floor where two adult males lived, and on the second and third floors where bin Laden lived with his family. The second and third floors were the last section of the compound to be cleared.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> There were reportedly "small knots of children&nbsp;... on every level, including the balcony of bin Laden's room."<ref name="oneshotdeal" />


Osama bin Laden was killed in the raid and initial versions said three other men and a woman were killed as well: bin Laden's adult son Khalid,<ref name="paknews" /><ref name="nytonesided" /> bin Laden's courier ], al-Kuwaiti's brother Abrar, and Abrar's wife Bushra.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" />
The exact number and identity of the people living in the compound is uncertain. Several appear to be members of the Osama bin Laden family, including possibly his fifth wife and their daughter. A Pakistani official told the ''New York Times'' that nine children ranging from two to 12 years old were placed in Pakistani custody;<ref name="ref-106"/> seven of those children may have belonged to the courier and his relative.<ref name="nytcompoundreporting"/> According to the British ''Daily Mail'', "four children and two women, including bin Laden's daughter ], were taken away in an ambulance."<ref name="dailymail1"/> One other person was reportedly taken away alive by the U.S. military; CIA and White House officials denied that anyone was taken alive at any time during the raid.<ref name="BBC_Intel_Failure"/><ref name="ref-109"/><ref name="nbcciadenial">{{cite news|url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/04/6583764-cia-denies-bin-laden-was-captured-before-his-killing}}</ref>


Conflicting reports of an initial firefight exist. ]'s book, '']'', states that the team were in a "short firefight" before reaching bin Laden.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/navy-seal-shot-osama-bin-laden-sight/story?id=17200191|title=Former SEAL: Why We Shot Osama Bin Laden on Sight|first=Lee |last=Ferran |website=ABC News |date=October 10, 2012}}</ref>
While bin Laden's body was taken by U.S. forces, the bodies of the four others killed in the raid were left behind at the compound; those bodies were later taken into Pakistani custody.<ref name="nytpakinvest">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/world/asia/05compound.html?hp}}</ref><ref name="ref-108"/>
An intelligence official told Seymour Hersh in 2015 that no firefight took place. In the earlier versions, Al-Kuwaiti is said to have opened fire on the first team of SEALs with an AK-47 from behind the guesthouse door, lightly injuring a SEAL with bullet fragments. A short firefight took place between al-Kuwaiti and the SEALs, in which al-Kuwaiti was killed.<ref name="deadlyraid" /><ref name="theaustralian1" /> His wife Mariam was allegedly shot and wounded in the right shoulder.<ref name="newamerica1">{{cite web |last=Bergen |first=Peter |url=http://newamerica.net/publications/articles/2012/the_last_days_of_osama_bin_laden_66847 |title=The Last Days of Osama bin Laden |publisher=NewAmerica.net |date=April 26, 2012 |access-date=August 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626154928/http://newamerica.net/publications/articles/2012/the_last_days_of_osama_bin_laden_66847 |archive-date=June 26, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/03/opinion/bergen-bin-laden-lair/index.html |title=A visit to Osama bin Laden's lair |publisher=CNN |date=May 3, 2012 |access-date=August 25, 2012}}</ref> The courier's male relative Abrar was then said to have been shot and killed by the SEALs' second team on the first floor of the main house as shots had already been fired and the SEALs thought that he was armed with a loaded AK-47 (this was later confirmed to be true in the official report).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDWcBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|title=Killing bin Laden: A Moral Analysis|first=B.|last=Strawser|date=October 2, 2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-137-43493-7|via=Google Books}}</ref> A woman near him, later identified as Abrar's wife Bushra, was in this version also shot and killed. Bin Laden's young adult son is said to have encountered the SEALs on the staircase of the main house, and to have been shot and killed by the second team.<ref name="deadlyraid" /><ref name="nbcpentagon" /><ref name="nytonesided" /><ref name="theaustralian1" /><ref name="foxnews1" /> An unnamed U.S. senior defense official said only one of the five people killed, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, was armed.<ref name="APsource" /> The interior of the house was pitch dark, because CIA operatives had cut the power to the neighborhood.<ref name="Bowden144" /> The U.S. military operators wore ] that enabled them to see in the dark.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sof |first=Eric |date=2017-11-02 |title=GPNVG-18: The Night Vision Goggles that Helped Take Down Bin Laden |url=https://special-ops.org/gpnvg-18-night-vision-goggles-bin-laden/ |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=special-ops.org}}</ref>


====Wrap-up==== === Killing of bin Laden ===
The SEALs encountered bin Laden on the third floor of the main building.<ref name="nbcpentagon" /><ref name="montrealtechnology" /> Bin Laden was unarmed, "wearing the local loose-fitting tunic and pants known as a ''],''" which were later found to have {{Euro|500|link=yes}} and two phone numbers sewn into the fabric.<ref name="behindthehunt" /><ref name="ST6return" /><ref name="theaustralian1" /><ref name="cole-intercept" />
The raid was intended to take 30 minutes. All told, the time between the team's entry in and exit from the compound was 38 minutes.<ref name="politico1"/> Time in the compound was spent neutralizing defenders<ref name="autogenerated1"/>; "moving carefully through the compound, room to room, floor to floor" securing the women and children; clearing "weapons stashes and barricades"<ref name="nbcpentagon"/> and searching the compound for information.<ref name="ref-21"/> U.S. personnel removed computer hard drives, documents, DVDs, thumb drives and "electronic equipment" from the compound for later analysis.<ref name="politico1"/><ref name="APGoldman"/>


Bin Laden peered through his bedroom door at the Americans advancing up the stairs, and the lead SEAL fired at him. Reports differ, though agree eventually he was hit by shots to the body and head. The initial shots either missed, hit him in the chest, the side, or in the head.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/zero-dark-thirty-osama-bin-laden-seals/ |title="Zero Dark Thirty" and the Mysterious Killing of Osama bin Laden |work=Mother Jones |last=Follman |first=Mark |date=February 22, 2013 |access-date=October 27, 2021}}</ref><ref name="cole-intercept" /> A number of bin Laden's female relatives were near him.<ref name="cole-intercept" /> According to journalist Nicholas Schmidle, one of bin Laden's wives, ], motioned as if she were about to charge; the lead SEAL shot her in the leg, then grabbed both women and shoved them aside.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" />
The helicopter that had made the emergency landing was damaged<ref name="blogs.abcnews.com"/> and could not fly the team out. It was consequently destroyed to safeguard its classified equipment (including an apparent stealth capability). After they "moved the women and children to a secure area"<ref name="ref-106"/> U.S. forces "improvise by packing the helicopter with explosives and blowing it up."<ref name="Dedman"/><ref name="ref-110"/> The assault team "called in one of two backup " to ferry them back to their base.<ref name="nytimes1"/>


], who later publicly identified himself as one of the SEALs who shot bin Laden,<ref name="wp 20141106" /><ref name="usatoday 20141106">{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/08/navy-seals-bin-laden-shooter/18659109/ |title=Navy SEALs 'frustrated' by bin Laden raid disclosures |work=] |date=November 8, 2014 |access-date=November 8, 2014 |last=Michaels |first=Jim}}</ref> states that he pushed past the lead SEAL, entered through the door and confronted bin Laden inside the bedroom. O'Neill states that bin Laden was standing behind a woman with his hands on her shoulders, pushing her forward. O'Neill immediately shot bin Laden twice in the forehead, then once more as bin Laden crumpled to the floor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Warrick |first=Joby |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ex-seal-reveals-himself-as-osama-bin-laden-shooter/ar-BBdlw9l |title=Ex-SEAL reveals himself as Osama bin Laden shooter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108133511/http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ex-seal-reveals-himself-as-osama-bin-laden-shooter/ar-BBdlw9l |archive-date=November 8, 2014 |newspaper=] |date=November 7, 2014 |via=msn.com}}</ref>
===Diplomatic cooperation===
] to monitor the progress of Operation Neptune's Spear.]]
According to Obama administration officials, U.S. officials did not share information about the raid with the government of Pakistan before the operation,<ref name="ref-5"/> but did notify Pakistan after its successful completion.<ref name="dawn20110502"/> According to the Pakistani foreign ministry, the operation was conducted entirely by the U.S. forces;<ref name="ref-32"/> however, Pakistan ] (ISI) officials stated that they were also present at what they called a joint operation,<ref name="LAT20110502"/> a claim which President ] has flatly denied.<ref name="ref-111"/>


Bissonnette gives a conflicting account of the situation, writing that bin Laden had already been mortally wounded by the lead SEAL's shots from the staircase. The lead SEAL then pushed bin Laden's wives aside, attempting to shield the SEALs behind him in the case that either woman had an explosive device. After bin Laden staggered back or fell into the bedroom, Bissonnette and O'Neill entered the room, saw the wounded bin Laden on the ground, fired multiple rounds, and killed him.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kulish |first1=Nicholas |first2=Christopher |last2=Drew |first3=Sean D. |last3=Naylor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/world/asia/another-ex-commando-says-he-shot-bin-laden.html |title=Another Ex-Commando Says He Shot Bin Laden |work=] |date=November 6, 2014}}</ref> Journalist ] investigated the conflicting claims and found that most of the SEALs present during the raid favored Bissonnette's account of the events. According to Bergen's sources, O'Neill did not mention firing the shots that killed bin Laden in the after-action report made following the operation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/04/opinion/bergen-seals-bin-laden-killing/index.html|title=Did Robert O'Neill really kill bin Laden?|last=Bergen|first=Peter|date=November 4, 2014|publisher=CNN|access-date=March 30, 2019}}</ref>
According to ABC News, Pakistani fighter jets were scrambled in an attempt to locate and identify what turned out to be the U.S. helicopters used in the raid.<ref name="blogs.abcnews.com"/>


The weapon used to kill bin Laden was an ] using ] 77-grain OTM (open-tip ]) rounds.<ref name="Bowden144" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Pfarrer|first=Chuck|title=SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden|year=2011|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-250-00635-6|pages=|url=https://archive.org/details/sealtargetgeroni00pfar_0/page/192}}</ref> The SEAL team leader radioed, "For God and country—Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo" and then, after being prompted by McRaven for confirmation, "Geronimo EKIA" (enemy killed in action). Watching the operation in the White House Situation Room, Obama simply said, "We got him."<ref name="deadlyraid" /><ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /><ref name="Bowden144" />
===Local accounts ===
Details of the raid, albeit observed from a distance, were ] by an Abbottābad resident, who initially did not know what was happening; he had begun tweeting by complaining about the noise of low-flying helicopters, to which he was unaccustomed.<ref name="ref-36"/><ref name="ref-37"/><ref name="ref-38"/> ]'s ] described a helicopter crash and "heavy firing" on the evening of May 1 "near the ] Kakul Road".<ref name="ref-39"/>


Various authors have written that there were two weapons in bin Laden's room: an ] ] and a Russian-made ].<ref name=pfarrer /> According to his wife Amal, bin Laden was shot before he could reach the AKS-74U.<ref name=pfarrer>{{cite book|last=Pfarrer|first=Chuck|title=SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden|year=2011|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-250-00635-6|pages=|url=https://archive.org/details/sealtargetgeroni00pfar_0/page/189}}</ref><ref name=viagra>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8502363/Osama-bin-Laden-was-a-user-of-herbal-viagra.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8502363/Osama-bin-Laden-was-a-user-of-herbal-viagra.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Osama bin Laden was a user of herbal viagra |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=April 6, 2011 |access-date=May 12, 2011 |location=London |first=Our |last=Foreign}}{{cbignore}}</ref> According to the Associated Press, the guns were on a shelf next to the door and the SEALs did not see them until they were photographing the body.<ref name="oneshotdeal" /> According to journalist Matthew Cole, the guns were not loaded and only found later during a search of the third floor.<ref name="cole-intercept">{{cite news |last1=Cole |first1=Matthew |title=The Crimes of Seal Team Six |url=https://theintercept.com/2017/01/10/the-crimes-of-seal-team-6/ |access-date=October 28, 2019 |publisher=The Intercept |date=January 10, 2017}}</ref>
The UK ''Telegraph'' quoted a resident of the area who said, "We saw four helicopters at around 2&nbsp;am. We were told to switch off lights of our homes and stay inside."<ref name="ref-40"/>


As the SEALs encountered women and children during the raid, they restrained them with ] or ]s.<ref name="nbcpentagon" /> After the raid was over, U.S. forces moved the surviving residents outside<ref name="stormedroom" /> "for Pakistani forces to discover."<ref name="nbcpentagon" /> The injured Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah continued to ] the raiders in Arabic.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /> Bin Laden's 12-year-old daughter Safia was allegedly struck in her foot or ankle by a piece of flying debris.<ref name="deadlyraid" /><ref name="GuardianBooth">{{cite news |last=Booth |first=Robert |title=Osama bin Laden death: How family scene in compound turned to carnage |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/bin-laden-death-family-compound |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=May 5, 2011 |access-date=May 5, 2011}}</ref><ref name="BBC_Intel_Failure" />
Local residents in the vicinity of the compound reported that ] and electrical service in the area went out around the time the raid began and was restored immediately after the Americans departed the area.<ref name="autogenerated3"/>


While bin Laden's body was taken by U.S. forces, the bodies of the four others killed in the raid were left behind at the compound and later taken into Pakistani custody.<ref name="nytpakinvest" /><ref name="ref-108" />
According to ]'s ] in Islamabad, reporting two days after the raid, ISI informed him after questioning survivors of the raid that there were 17 to 18 people in the compound at the time of the attack and that the Americans took away one person still alive, possibly a bin Laden son. The ISI also said that survivors included a wife, a daughter and eight to nine other children, not apparently bin Laden's.


=== Conclusion ===
'']'' cited an unnamed Pakistani security official as reporting that one of bin Laden's daughters told Pakistani investigators that bin Laden had been shot dead in front of family members. The daughter also claimed that Bin Laden was captured alive then executed by American forces and dragged to a helicopter.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42892575/ns/world_news-death_of_bin_laden/ Msnbc Retrieved 4th May 2011</ref><ref> [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383106/Osama-Bin-Laden-dead-Wife-watched-die-White-House-reveals-WASNT-armed.html DailyMail (UK)Retrieved 4th May 2011</ref><ref>[http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/05/04/147782.html Alarabiya Retrieved 4th May 2011</ref>
] (April 4, 2011)]]
The raid was intended to take 40 minutes. The time between the team's entry in and exit from the compound was 38 minutes.<ref name="politico1" /> According to the Associated Press, the assault was completed in the first 15 minutes.<ref name="oneshotdeal" />


Time in the compound was spent killing defenders,<ref name="autogenerated1" /> "moving carefully through the compound, room to room, floor to floor" securing the women and children, clearing "weapons stashes and barricades"<ref name="nbcpentagon" /> including a false door,<ref name="abcnbarricades" /> and searching the compound for information.<ref name="realname" /> U.S. personnel recovered three ]s and two pistols, ten computer hard drives, documents, DVDs, almost a hundred ], a dozen cell phones, and "electronic equipment" for later analysis.<ref name="politico1" /><ref name="APGoldman" /><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hayes |first=Stephen F. |date=September 15, 2014 |title=Al Qaeda Wasn't 'on the Run' |url=http://m.weeklystandard.com/articles/al-qaeda-wasn-t-run_804366.html |magazine=] |volume=15 |issue=1 |access-date=October 16, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019013528/http://m.weeklystandard.com/articles/al-qaeda-wasn-t-run_804366.html |archive-date=October 19, 2014 }}</ref>{{efn|A '']'' documentary in September 2020, titled "Bin Laden's Hard Drive", mentioned that Osama bin Laden may have communicated with his associates through secret messages encoded in porn videos.<ref name="nypost2020" />}} The SEALs also discovered a large amount of ] stored in the house.<ref name="esquire.com" />
===Code name===
There were conflicting reports in the media regarding what the official mission ] was. Originally reported as ''Operation Geronimo'' it was subsequently reported as ''Operation Neptune Spear'',<ref name="abcnewskillmission">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/us-official-this-was-a-kill-mission.html|title=US Official: "This Was a Kill Mission"|author=Jake Tapper|publisher=ABC News}}</ref><ref></ref> with ''Jackpot'' as the code name for bin Laden as an individual and ''Geronimo'' as the code word for bin Laden's capture or death.<ref>{{cite news|title='For God and Country Geronimo, Geronimo, Geromimo'|date=May 3, 2011|url=http://blogs.cbn.com/beltwaybuzz/archive/2011/05/03/for-god-and-country-geronimo-geronimo-geromimo.aspx|work=CBN News|publisher=Christian Broadcasting Network|accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref>


Since the helicopter that had made the emergency landing was damaged and unable to fly the team out, it was destroyed to safeguard its classified equipment, including an apparent ] capability.<ref name="dangerroomstealth" /> The pilot smashed the instrument panel, radio, and the other classified fixtures, and the SEALs demolished the helicopter with explosives. Since the SEAL team was reduced to one operational helicopter, one of the two Chinooks held in reserve was dispatched to carry part of the team and bin Laden's body out of Pakistan.<ref name="Dedman" /><ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /><ref name="behindthehunt" /><ref name="ref-110" />
Neptune's spear is the ], which appears on ] ], with the three prongs of the trident representing the operational capacity of SEALs on sea, air and land.{{fact|date=May 2011}}


While the American force gathered intelligence and destroyed the helicopter, a crowd of locals gathered outside the compound, curious about the noise and activity. An ]-speaking American officer, through a megaphone, told those gathered that it was a Pakistani military operation, and to remain at a distance.<ref>{{cite web|last=Graff|first=Garrett M.|title='I'd Never Been Involved in Anything as Secret as This'|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/04/30/osama-bin-laden-death-white-house-oral-history-484793|access-date=May 2, 2021|website=POLITICO|date=April 30, 2021}}</ref>
] references the Native American leader of the ] Apache who defied the U.S. government and eluded capture. The use of Geronimo in this context was offensive to some Native Americans.


While the official Department of Defense narrative did not mention the airbases used in the operation,<ref name="DODCNN" /> later accounts indicated that the helicopters returned to ].<ref name="oneshotdeal" /> The body of Osama bin Laden was flown from Bagram to the ] {{USS|Carl Vinson||2}} in a ] tiltrotor aircraft escorted by two U.S. Navy ] fighter jets.<ref>], "", '']'', May 12, 2011, p. 10.</ref><ref>Capaccio, Tony, "V-22 Osprey Flew Osama Bin Laden To Navy Ship After Death", ], June 14, 2011.</ref>
A transmission from operatives on the ground in Pakistan of ''Geronimo E KIA'' (Geronimo, enemy ]) alerted mission commanders to the death of bin Laden.


=== Burial of bin Laden ===
{{seealso|Operation Geronimo name controversy}}
According to U.S. officials, bin Laden was buried at sea because no country would accept his remains.<ref name="remains" /> Before disposing of the body, the U.S. called the Saudi Arabian government, who approved of burying the body in the ocean.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /> ] were performed aboard ''Carl Vinson'' in the North Arabian Sea within 24 hours of bin Laden's death. Preparations began at 10:10&nbsp;a.m. local time and at-sea burial was completed at 11&nbsp;a.m. The body was washed, wrapped in a white sheet and placed in a weighted plastic bag. An officer read prepared religious remarks which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. Afterward, bin Laden's body was placed onto a flat board. The board was tilted upward on one side and the body slid off into the sea.<ref name="navyburial" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Secret details of Bin Laden burial revealed|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/11/2012112243823204328.html|publisher=Al Jazeera English|access-date=November 22, 2012|date=November 22, 2012}}</ref>


In ''Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace'',<ref name="worthfights" /> ] wrote that bin Laden's body was draped in a white shroud, given final prayers in Arabic and placed inside a black bag loaded with {{convert|300|lb|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}} of iron chains, apparently to ensure that it would sink and never float. The body bag was placed on a white table at the rail of the ship, and the table was tipped to let the body bag slide into the sea, but the body bag did not slide and took the table with it. The table bobbed on the surface while the weighted body sank.<ref name="worthfights" />
==Identification of the body==

=== Pakistan–U.S. communication ===
According to Obama administration officials, U.S. officials did not share information about the raid with the government of Pakistan until it was over.<ref name="ref-5" /><ref name="dawn20110502" /> Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ] called Pakistan's army chief ] at about 3&nbsp;am local time to inform him of the operation.<ref name="nyt20110505" />

According to the Pakistani foreign ministry, the operation was conducted entirely by the U.S. forces.<ref name="ref-32" /> Pakistan ] (ISI) officials said they were present at what they called a joint operation;<ref name="LAT20110502" /> President ] flatly denied this.<ref name="ref-111" /> Pakistan's foreign secretary ] later confirmed that Pakistani military had ] ] after they became aware of the attack but that they reached the compound after the U.S. helicopters had left.<ref name="wsj20110505" />

=== Identification of the body ===
]
U.S. forces used multiple methods to positively identify the body of Osama bin Laden: U.S. forces used multiple methods to positively identify the body of Osama bin Laden:
* '''Measurement of the body:''' Both the corpse and bin Laden were 6'4" (1.93 meters) tall; SEALs on the scene did not have a tape measure to use for measuring the corpse, so a DEVGRU operator of known height laid down next to the body and the height was approximated by comparison.<ref name="ST6return"/> * Measurement of the body: Both the corpse and bin Laden were {{convert|6|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on|order=flip}}; SEALs on the scene did not have a ] to measure the corpse, so a SEAL of known height lay down next to the body and the height was so approximated by comparison.<ref name="ST6return" /> Obama quipped, "You just blew up a $65 million helicopter and you don't have enough money to buy a tape measure?"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Graff |first1=Garrett M. |title='I'd Never Been Involved in Anything as Secret as This' |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/04/30/osama-bin-laden-death-white-house-oral-history-484793 |access-date=May 22, 2021 |work=POLITICO}}</ref>
* '''Facial recognition software:''' A photograph transmitted by the SEALs to CIA headquarters in ] for ] analysis yielded a 90 to 95 percent likely match. * Facial recognition software: A photograph transmitted by the SEALs to CIA headquarters in ], for ] analysis yielded a 90 to 95 percent likely match.<ref name="ref-94" />
* '''In-person identification:''' One or two women from the compound, including one of bin Laden's wives<ref name="ref-47"/>, identified bin Laden's body after death.<ref name="abcnews1"/> ] A wife of bin Laden also apparently called him by name during the raid, inadvertently assisting in his identification by U.S. armed forces on the ground.<ref name="ref-30"/><ref name="ref-20"/><ref name="ref-114"/> * In-person identification: One or two women from the compound, including one of bin Laden's wives,<ref name="ref-47" /> identified bin Laden's body.<ref name="ref-94" /> A wife of bin Laden called him by name during the raid, inadvertently assisting in his identification by U.S. military forces on the ground.<ref name="ref-114" />
* '''DNA testing:''' The ], and '']'' reported that bin Laden's body could be identified by ],<ref name=ABCNews/><ref name="ref-13"/><ref name="ref-113"/> using tissue and blood samples taken from his sister who had died of ].<ref name="ref-14"/> ABC News stated, "Two samples were taken from bin Laden: one of these DNA samples was analyzed, and information was sent electronically back to Washington, D.C., from Bagram. Someone else from Afghanistan is physically bringing back a sample."<ref name="abcnews1"/> * DNA testing: The ] and ''The New York Times'' reported that bin Laden's body could be identified by DNA profiling<ref name="ref-96" /><ref name="ref-13" /> using tissue and blood samples taken from his sister who had died of brain cancer.<ref name="ref-14" /> ABC News stated, "Two samples were taken from bin Laden: one of these DNA samples was analyzed, and information was sent electronically back to Washington, D.C., from Bagram. Someone else from Afghanistan is physically bringing back a sample."<ref name="ref-94" /> A military medic took ] and swabs from the body to use for the DNA testing.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /> According to a senior U.S. Department of Defense official: DNA analysis conducted separately by Department of Defense and CIA labs positively identified Osama bin Laden. DNA samples collected from his body were compared to a comprehensive DNA profile derived from ]. Based on that analysis, the DNA is unquestionably his. The probability of a mistaken identity on the basis of this analysis is approximately one in 11.8&nbsp;].<ref>{{cite news|last=Dilanian|first= K. | date=2011-05-08 | title=DEATH OF OSAMA BIN LADEN; U.S. releases bin laden videos; other items gathered in the raid show he was al qaeda's operational leader to the end, official says. |newspaper=Los Angeles Times| id={{ProQuest|865121852}} }}</ref>
* Inference: Per the same DoD official, from the initial review of the materials removed from the Abbottabad compound the Department "assessed that much of this information, including personal correspondence between Osama bin Laden and others, as well as some of the video footage&nbsp;... would only have been in his possession."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dupree |first=Jamie |date=2011-05-08 |title=Bin Laden Intelligence |url=https://www.ajc.com/blog/jamie-dupree/bin-laden-intelligence/6Ilb2WVSXg4gvVAxHDELCM/ |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=AJC (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)}}</ref>


===Photographic evidence=== === Local accounts ===
Beginning at 12:58&nbsp;a.m. local time (19:58 UTC), Abbottabad resident Sohaib Athar sent a series of ] starting with "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)." By 1:44&nbsp;a.m. all was quiet until a plane flew over the city at 3:39&nbsp;a.m.<ref name="livetwitter" /> Neighbors took to their roofs and watched as U.S. special operations forces stormed the compound. One neighbor said, "I saw soldiers emerging from the helicopters and advancing towards the house. Some of them instructed us in chaste ] to turn off the lights and stay inside."<ref name="deceit" /> Another man said he heard shooting and screams, then an explosion as a grounded helicopter was destroyed. The blast broke his bedroom window and left charred debris over a nearby field.<ref name="spooked" /> A local security officer said he entered the compound shortly after the Americans left, before it was sealed off by the army. "There were four dead bodies, three male and one female and one female was injured," he said. "There was a lot of blood on the floor and one could easily see the marks like a dead body had been dragged out of the compound." Numerous witnesses reported that power, and possibly cellphone service,<ref name="chopper" /> went out around the time of the raid and apparently included the military academy.<ref name="placeinhistory" /><ref name="livingnextdoor" /> Accounts differed as to the exact time of the blackout. One journalist concluded after interviewing several residents that it was a routine ].<ref name="osamaoperation" />
Bin Laden's body was photographed multiple times (in Pakistan, Afghanistan and aboard the USS ''Carl Vinson'') before it was buried at sea, sparking a debate about whether to release the photos.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/05/to-release-or-not-to-release-bin-laden-death-photos-spark-debate/1 |title=To release or not: Bin Laden death photos spark debate |work=USA Today |date=January 5, 2011 |accessdate=May 3, 2011 |first=Michael |last=Winter}}</ref> Those supporting the release of the photos said it would prove his death and prevent ] that bin Laden is still alive, while others expressed concern that the photos would inflame ] sentiment in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/desire-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-grows/story?id=13516795 |title=9/11 Families Calling for Osama Bin Laden Death Photo |publisher=Abcnews.go.com |date=September 11, 2001 |accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


ISI reported after questioning survivors of the raid that there were 17 to 18 people in the compound at the time of the attack and that the Americans took away one person still alive, possibly a bin Laden son. The ISI said that survivors included a wife, a daughter and eight to nine other children, not apparently bin Laden's. An unnamed Pakistani security official was quoted as saying one of bin Laden's daughters told Pakistani investigators that bin Laden had been captured alive, then in front of family members was shot dead by U.S. forces and dragged to a helicopter.<ref>. NBC News. May 4, 2011.</ref><ref name="shotdead" />
CIA Director ] said in an interview with '']'' that photographs of the deceased bin Laden would "ultimately" be released, but the White House immediately denied that any decision had been made, referring to the photos—which reportedly show that a portion of bin Laden's skull had been blown off—as "gruesome".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42873423/ns/world_news-death_of_bin_laden/ |title=Panetta: Bin Laden death photo to be released |publisher=msnbc.msn.com |date=March 5, 2011 |accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref> A source told ABC News that the photos depict the physical damage done by "] bullet."<ref name="abcnewsmoney"/> ] reported that the photo shows that the bullet which hit above bin Laden's left eye blew out his left eyeball and blew away a large portion of his frontal skull, exposing his brain.<ref>], May 4, 2011.</ref>


=== Compound residents ===
President Obama ultimately decided not to release the photos.<ref name="abcnophotos">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/concerned-about-potential-backlash-president-obama-wont-release-photo-of-bin-laden-corpse.html|title=Concerned About Potential Backlash, President Obama Won’t Release Photo of Bin Laden Corpse|author=Jake Tapper}}</ref>
U.S. officials said there were 22 people in the compound. Five were killed, including Osama bin Laden.<ref name="secretteam" /> Pakistani officials gave conflicting reports suggesting between 12 and 17 survivors.<ref name="nytchildren" /> '']'' subsequently published excerpts from a pocket guide, presumably dropped by the SEALs during the raid, containing pictures and descriptions of likely compound residents.<ref name="pocketguide" /> The guide listed several adult children of bin Laden and their families who were not ultimately found in the compound.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} Because of a lack of accurate information, some of what follows cannot be verified as true.<ref name="nytchildren" />
* Five adults dead: ], 54;<ref name="abuhamza" /> ], his son by Siham (identified as ] in early accounts), 23;<ref name="nytchildren" /> Arshad Khan, a.k.a. ], the courier, described as the "flabby" one by ''The Sunday Times'', 33;<ref name="nytchildren" /><ref name="pocketguide" /> Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti's brother Abrar, 30; and Bushra, Abrar's wife, age unknown.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0803/1224301774407.html |title='No one wanted detainees' in raid on bin Laden house |newspaper=] |date=August 3, 2011 |access-date=August 23, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110803040142/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0803/1224301774407.html|archive-date=August 3, 2011}}</ref><ref name="goodneighbours" /><ref name="secretlife" />
* Four surviving women: ], bin Laden's third, Saudi wife a.k.a. Um Hamza, 62;<ref name="nytchildren" /><ref name="pocketguide" /> ], bin Laden's fourth, Saudi wife a.k.a. Um Khalid, 54;<ref name="nytchildren" /><ref name="pocketguide" /> Amal, bin Laden's fifth, Yemeni wife, a.k.a. ], 29 (injured);<ref name="deadlyraid" /><ref name="nytchildren" /> and Mariam, Arshad Khan's Pakistani wife.<ref name="newamerica1" /><ref name="nytchildren" />
* Five minor children of Osama and Amal: Safia, a daughter, 12; a son, 5; another son, age unknown; and infant twin daughters.<ref name="deadlyraid" /><ref name="pocketguide" /><ref name="demandsreturn" /><ref name="saudirefuses" /><ref name="haripur" />
* Four bin Laden grandchildren from an unidentified daughter who had been killed in an airstrike in Waziristan. Two may be the boys, around 10, who spoke to Pakistani investigators.<ref name="nytchildren" /><ref name="daughterinfo" />
* Four children of Arshad Khan: Two sons, Abdur Rahman and Khalid, 6{{nbsp}}or 7; a daughter, age unknown; and another child, age unknown.<ref name="goodneighbours" /><ref name="plainsight" />


== Aftermath ==
On May 4, ] published photos it said were taken by a Pakistan security official in the aftermath of the raid; the photos included images of the helicopter wreckage and three male dead bodies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/may/04/osama-bin-laden-compound#/?picture=374256182&index=8 |title=Osama bin Laden compound in Abbottabad – in pictures |work=Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref>
=== Leaks of the news ===
{{Wikinews|Osama bin Laden killed in U.S. operation in Pakistan, White House says}}
] digital board in ] after Bin Laden's death]]


Around 9:45&nbsp;p.m. ], the ] announced that the president would be addressing the nation later in the evening.<ref name="leakedout" /> At 10:24:05&nbsp;p.m. EDT the first public leak was made by Navy Reserve intel officer ] and 47 seconds later by actor and ] ] on ].<ref>{{cite web |last=Coscarelli |first=Joe |url=http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/05/the_rock_osama_bin_laden_keith_urbahn.php |title=The Rock Knew About Osama Bin Laden's Death Before You: Who Knew What When?—New York News—Runnin' Scared |work=] |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=June 23, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630100440/http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/05/the_rock_osama_bin_laden_keith_urbahn.php |archive-date=June 30, 2013 }}</ref> Anonymous government officials confirmed details to the media, and by&nbsp;11 p.m. numerous major news sources were reporting that bin Laden was dead;<ref name="leakedout" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pakistanweatherportal.com/2011/05/05/bad-weather-caused-osama-to-live-for-24-hours/ |title=Bad weather caused Osama to live for 24 hours? |publisher=Pakistan Weather Portal |date=May 5, 2011}}</ref> the number of leaks were characterized as "voluminous" by ].<ref>{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Shane |date=December 23, 2014 |title=Exclusive: Bin Laden 'Shooter' Under Investigation for Leaking Secrets |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/23/exclusive-bin-laden-shooter-under-investigation-for-leaking-secrets.html |publisher=The Daily Beast |access-date=December 23, 2014 |quote=The leaks were so voluminous, according to a book by ''The New York Times'' reporter David Sanger, that then-secretary of Defense Robert Gates told the White House that officials should "shut the fuck up" about the raid.}}</ref>
==Burial at sea==
] conducting flight operations in Persian Gulf (April 4, 2011)]]
According to a U.S. official on May 2, bin Laden's body was handled in accordance with ]<ref name="reuters20110502"/> and was ] less than a day after his death.<ref name="ref-41"/><ref name="sea burial">{{cite news|title=How U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden|url =http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.raid/|publisher=Cable News Network|accessdate=May 2, 2011 |date=May 2, 2011}}</ref><ref name="ref-42"/><ref name="ref-43"/> The body was transported to the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier {{USS |Carl Vinson|CVN-70|2}} (''pictured''), the ] of ], operating in the northern ],<ref name="ref-44"/> and at 1:10&nbsp;am EDT, the body was "washed in accordance with ]ic custom, placed in a white sheet, then put inside a weighted bag". After religious statements translated into ] were made, the body "was placed onto a flat board, which was then elevated upward on one side, and... slid off into the sea".<ref name="ref-47"/><ref>{{cite news | title= Burial at sea is routine for US Navy | url= http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hraIl0GkB118Ut9Rdv0XfnrWb8mQ?docId=36581b7af6aa46498de061b069d6b0fd | agency=Associated Press | date= May 3, 2010 | accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref>


=== U.S. presidential address ===
According to two ] officials, a video of the burial may be released.<ref name="ref-122"/>
] address (9:28)
''Also available:'' ], {{Cws |title=full text |link=Remarks by the President on Osama bin Laden |nobullet=yes}}]]
At 11:35&nbsp;p.m., President Obama appeared on major television networks:<ref name="leakedout" />


{{Cquote|Good evening. 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 was responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children&nbsp;... {{Cws |title=''(cont'd)'' |link=Remarks by the President on Osama bin Laden |nobullet=yes}}
The burial at sea was criticized by some quarters, including assertions by some Islamic scholars that it was not correctly faithful to the tenets of the religion.
}}
{{seealso|Critiques of Osama bin Laden burial at sea}}


President Obama recalled the victims of the September 11 attacks. He praised the nearly ten-year-old war against al-Qaeda, which he said had disrupted terrorist plots, strengthened homeland defenses, removed the ] government, and captured or killed scores of al-Qaeda operatives. Obama said that when he took office he made finding bin Laden the top priority of the war, and that Bin Laden's death was the most significant blow to al-Qaeda so far but the war would continue. He reaffirmed that the U.S. was not at war against Islam and defended his decision to conduct an operation within Pakistan. He said Americans understood the cost of war but would not stand by while their security was threatened. "To those families who have lost loved ones to al-Qaeda's terror," he said, "justice has been done." This remark book-ended President Bush's statement to a joint session of Congress following the September 11 attacks that "justice will be done." <!-- source is the video -->
==Address of President Barack Obama==
]
{{wikisource|Remarks by the President on Osama bin Laden}}
Late in the evening of May 1, 2011, major American news organizations were informed that the president would give an important speech on an undisclosed subject related to national security. Rumors initially spread wildly about the subject,<ref name="ref-49"/> until it was revealed that President ] was to announce the death of Osama bin Laden. At 11:35&nbsp;p.m. ] (May 2, 2011, 3:35 UTC), Obama confirmed this and said that bin Laden had been killed by "a small team of Americans".<ref name="ref-123"/><ref name="ref-50"/> He explained how the killing of bin Laden was achieved after following up on a lead from August 2010, what his role was in the series of events, and what the death of bin Laden meant on a symbolic and practical level.<ref name="ref-51"/>


=== Reactions ===
{{cquote|Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound, in Abbottābad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.|200px||President Barack Obama, May 1, 2011<ref name="ref-52"/>}}
{{Main|Reactions to the killing of Osama bin Laden}}
] celebrating Osama bin Laden's death]]
] celebrating bin Laden's death]]
Before the official announcement, large crowds spontaneously gathered outside the ], ], ], and in New York's ] to celebrate. In ], where there is a large Muslim and Arab population, a small crowd gathered outside the City Hall in celebration, many of them of Middle Eastern descent.<ref name="ref-56" /> From the beginning to the end of Obama's speech, 5,000 tweets per second were posted on Twitter.<ref name="ref-57" /> As news of bin Laden's death filtered through the crowd at a ] ] game in ] between ] ] and the ], ] began.<ref name="ref-58" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Video-Phillies-fans-chant-8216-U-S-A-8217-?urn=mlb-wp5081 |title=Video: Phillies fans chant 'U-S-A!' after Osama bin Laden news |last1=Kaduk |first1=Kevin |date=May 2, 2011 |publisher=Yahoo! Sports |access-date=September 14, 2011}}</ref> In ], at the conclusion of a ] which was occurring at the time, ] ] announced to the audience that bin Laden had been "caught and compromised to a permanent end," prompting chants while he exited the arena to the march "]."<ref>{{cite news |title=Wrestler's bizarre declaration of Osama bin Laden's death |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=September 15, 2011 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8490123/Wrestlers-bizarre-declaration-of-Osama-bin-Ladens-death.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506040518/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8490123/Wrestlers-bizarre-declaration-of-Osama-bin-Ladens-death.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 6, 2011 |location=London |date=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


The deputy leader of Egypt's ] said that, with bin Laden dead, Western forces should now pull out of ] and ]; authorities in Iran made similar comments.<ref name="ref-59" /> ] leaders had contrasting reactions. ] welcomed bin Laden's death, while ], the head of the ] administration in the ], condemned what he saw as the assassination of an "Arab holy warrior."<ref name="ref-60" />
==Legality==
Although Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have stated that justice was done, some legal experts and others are not convinced.<ref name="legality">{{cite web|author=Owen Bowcott |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/03/osama-bin-laden-killing-legality |title=Osama bin Laden: US responds to questions about killing's legality |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref> Professor Nick Grief, an international lawyer at Kent University stated the attack had the appearance of an "extrajudicial killing without due process of the law." On a note of caution he added "It may not have been possible to take him alive… but no one should be outside the protection of the law." Even after the end of the second world war, argued Grief, ] had been given a "fair trial."<ref name="legality" />


The ] was quoted by the ''Los Angeles Times'' as saying, "Forgiveness doesn't mean forget what happened.&nbsp;... If something is serious and it is necessary to take counter-measures, you have to take counter-measures." This was widely reported as an endorsement of bin Laden's killing and was criticized in Buddhist circles, but another journalist cited a video of the discussion to argue that the comment was taken out of context and the Dalai Lama supports killing only in self-defense.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/ME13Ad04.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514092055/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/ME13Ad04.html |url-status=unfit |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |first=Peter |last=Lee |title=Osama and the real Dalai Lama |work=] |date=May 13, 2011 |access-date=May 30, 2011}}</ref>
] QC also had his doubts about whether sufficient efforts had been made to capture bin Laden. "The serious risk is that in the absence of an authoritative narrative of events played out in Abbottabad, vengeance will become synonymised with justice, and that revenge will supplant 'due process'. ... Assuming the mission was... intended to detain and not to assassinate, it is therefore imperative that a properly documented and verifiable narrative of exactly what happened is made public. Whatever feelings of elation and relief may dominate the airwaves," he said, "they must not be allowed to submerge core questions about the legality of the exercise, nor to permit vengeance or summary execution to become substitutes for justice."<ref name="legality" />


A CBS/''The New York Times'' poll taken after bin Laden's death showed that 16% of Americans feel safer as the result of his death while 60% of Americans of those polled believe killing bin Laden would likely increase the threat of terrorism against the U.S. in the short term.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/bin-ladens-killing-helps-presidents-poll-numbers/ |title=Bin Laden's Killing Helps President's Poll Numbers |work=The New York Times |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=October 13, 2011}}</ref>
The human rights lawyer ] QC said that the killing risked undermining the rule of law. "The security council could have set up an ad hoc tribunal in The Hague, with international judges (including Muslim jurists), to provide a fair trial and a reasoned verdict," he wrote in ''The Independent''. "This would have been the best way of demystifying this man, debunking his cause and de-brainwashing his followers."<ref name="legality" />


In India, ] ] said that bin Laden hiding "deep inside" Pakistan was a matter of grave concern for India and showed that "many of the perpetrators of the ], including the controllers and the handlers of the terrorists who actually carried out the attack, continue to be sheltered in Pakistan." He also called on Pakistan to arrest them,<ref>{{cite news|title=India Uses Osama Death to Pressure Pakistan|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704569404576298211101277924|date=May 2, 2011|work=The Wall Street Journal|last=Wright|first=Tom}}</ref> amidst calls for similar strikes being conducted by India against ] and ].<ref name="indiahunt" />
], who served as the state department's senior lawyer during George Bush's second term as president, also insisted the strike was legitimate. "The killing is not prohibited by the long-standing assassination prohibition in executive order 12333 because the action was a military action in the ongoing US armed conflict with al-Qaida and it is not prohibited to kill specific leaders of an opposing force. The assassination prohibition also does not apply to killings in self-defence. The executive branch will also argue that the action was permissible under international law both as a permissible use of force in the US armed conflict with al-Qaida and as a legitimate action in self-defence, given that bin Laden was clearly planning additional attacks." A US embassy spokesman in London put forth the American justification as "In war you are allowed to attack your enemy."<ref>{{cite news | url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/03/osama-bin-laden-killing-legality | location = London | work=The Guardian | first=Owen | last=Bowcott | title=Osama bin Laden: US responds to questions about killing's legality | date=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


=== Freedom of Information Act requests and denials ===
The Pakistan foreign ministry has called into question the legality of American action by expressing "deep concerns" about the "unauthorised unilateral action". According to former West German Chancellor ], {{q |it was quite clearly a violation of international law}}.<ref>{{citation | publisher=Al Jazeera | url = http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/05/20115319011610215.html | date = 2011-5 | section = Americas}}</ref>
Although the Abbottabad raid has been described in great detail by U.S. officials, no physical evidence constituting "proof of death" has been offered to the public, neither to journalists nor to independent third parties who have requested this information through the ].<ref name="FOIA1">{{cite news|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/05/associated-press-case-releasing-bin-laden-photo/37510/|title=The Associated Press's Case for Releasing the Bin Laden Photo|first=John|last=Hudson|publisher=The Atlantic Wire|date=May 10, 2011|access-date=April 30, 2012|archive-date=May 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518092716/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/05/associated-press-case-releasing-bin-laden-photo/37510/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Numerous organizations filed FOIA requests seeking at least a partial release of photographs, videos, and/or DNA test results, including ], ], ], ], '']'', ], ], and ].<ref name="FOIA2">{{cite news|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/05/look-whos-foiaing-bin-laden-death-photo/37493/|title=A Look at Who's FOIAing the Bin Laden Death Photo|first=John|last=Hudson|publisher=The Atlantic Wire|date=May 9, 2011|access-date=April 30, 2012|archive-date=May 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518092716/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/05/associated-press-case-releasing-bin-laden-photo/37510/|url-status=dead}}</ref> On April 26, 2012, Judge ] held that the Department of Defense was not required to release any evidence to the public.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Defense, et al. |opinion=Civil Action No. 11-890 (JEB) |court=D.D.C. |date=April 26, 2012 |url=http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/obl.pdf |format=PDF |access-date=August 7, 2012}} {{Cite web |url=http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/obl.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=August 7, 2012 |archive-date=May 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501165005/http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/obl.pdf |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>


According to a draft report by the Pentagon's inspector general, Admiral William McRaven, the top special operations commander, ordered the Department of Defense to purge from its computer systems all files on the bin Laden raid after first sending them to the CIA.<ref name="lardner-2013">{{cite news|last=Lardner|first=Richard|title=Bin Laden Raid Records Shielded From Public In Secret Move|url=http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/bin-laden-raid-records-shielded-from-public-in-secret-move.php?ref=fpb|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130717081757/http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/bin-laden-raid-records-shielded-from-public-in-secret-move.php?ref=fpb|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 17, 2013|agency=Associated Press|access-date=July 15, 2013|date=July 8, 2013}}</ref><ref name="harper-2013">{{cite web|last=Harper|first=Lauren|title="The Shell Game" and the Osama bin Laden Documents|url=http://nsarchive.wordpress.com/2013/07/08/the-shell-game-and-the-osama-bin-laden-documents/|publisher=The National Security Archive|access-date=July 15, 2013|date=July 8, 2013}}</ref><ref name="ig-draft-2013">{{cite web|title=Release of Department of Defense Information to the Media—Draft Report|url=http://pogoarchives.org/m/ns/pogo_document_2013_ig.pdf|publisher=United States Department of Defense|author=Inspector General of the United States Department of Defense|year=2013|quote=This effort included purging the combatant command's system of all records related to the operation and providing these records to another Government Agency.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605133901/http://pogoarchives.org/m/ns/pogo_document_2013_ig.pdf|archive-date=June 5, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Lardner|first=Richard|title=Secret Move Keeps Bin Laden Records in the Shadows|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/secret-move-keeps-bin-laden-records-shadows|agency=Associated Press|access-date=July 9, 2013|date=July 8, 2013}}</ref> Any mention of this decision was expunged from the final version of the inspector general's report.<ref name="harper-2013" /> According to the Pentagon, this was done to protect the identities of the Navy SEALs involved in the raid.<ref name="harper-2013" /> The legal justification for the records transfer is that the SEALs were effectively working for the CIA at the time of the raid, which ostensibly means that any records of the raid belong to the CIA.<ref name="lardner-2013" /><ref name="harper-2013" /> "Documents related to the raid were handled in a manner consistent with the fact that the operation was conducted under the direction of the CIA director," CIA agency spokesman Preston Golson said in an emailed statement. "Records of a CIA operation such as the (bin Laden) raid, which were created during the conduct of the operation by persons acting under the authority of the CIA Director, are CIA records."<ref name="APHP20130708">{{cite news|last=Lardner|first=Richard|title=Adm. William McRaven Shields Files About Raid On Osama bin Laden's Hideout From The Public|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/08/bin-laden-raid-files-hidden_n_3559948.html|agency=Associated Press|work=]|access-date=July 9, 2013|date=July 8, 2013}}</ref> Golson said it is absolutely false that records were moved to the CIA to avoid the legal requirements of the ].<ref name="APHP20130708" /> The ] has criticized this maneuver, saying that the records have now gone into a "FOIA black hole":
], the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights asked the American government to explain whether US forces acted legally in killing bin Laden.<ref name="vansun">{{citation | publisher=Sun | place = Vancouver, BC, CA | url = http://www.vancouversun.com/news/human+rights+boss+questions+legality+Laden+killing/4725624/story.html | title = Human rights boss questions legalify of bin Laden killing}}</ref>


<blockquote>What the transfer really did was ensure that the files would be placed in the CIA's operational records, a records system that—due to the 1986 CIA Operational Files exemption—is not subject to the FOIA and is a black hole for anyone trying to access the files within. The move prevents the public from accessing the official record about the raid, and bypasses several important federal records keeping procedures in the process.<ref name="harper-2013" /></blockquote>
] said it was seeking "greater clarification" about what went on, while New York-based ] said "law enforcement" principles should have applied.<ref name="vansun"/>


The United States Defense Department can prevent the release of its own military files citing risks to national security, but that can be contested in court, and a judge can compel the Pentagon to turn over non-sensitive portions of records. The CIA has special authority to prevent the release of operational files in ways that cannot be challenged in federal court.<ref name="APHP20130708" /> Richard Lardner, reporting for the Associated Press, wrote that the maneuver "could represent a new strategy for the U.S. government to shield even its most sensitive activities from public scrutiny."<ref name="larder-2013">{{cite news|work=Associated Press|title=Secret move keeps bin Laden records in the shadows|date=July 8, 2013|url=https://apnews.com/dd6b2d52b98e4446868351588b66bacb}}</ref>
==Aftermath==


The inspector general's draft report also described how former Secretary of Defense ] disclosed classified information to the makers of '']'', including the unit that conducted the raid and the ground commander's name.<ref name="pogo-2013">{{cite web|title=Unreleased: Probe Finds CIA Honcho Disclosed Top Secret Info to Hollywood|url=http://www.pogo.org/our-work/articles/2013/unreleased-probe-finds-cia-disclosed-secret-info.html|publisher=Project on Government Oversight|first1=Adam |last1=Zagorin|first2=David S. |last2=Hilzenrath|date=June 4, 2013}}</ref>
===Reactions===
{{main|Reactions to the death of Osama bin Laden}}
]
Within minutes of the official announcement, large crowds spontaneously gathered outside the White House, ], ] and in New York's ] to celebrate.<ref name="guardian20110502"/> In ], Michigan, where there is a large Muslim and ] population, a small crowd gathered outside the City Hall in celebration, many of them being of Middle Eastern descent.<ref name="ref-56"/> From the beginning to the end of Obama's speech, 5,000 tweets per second were sent on microblogging platform Twitter.<ref name="ref-57"/> Fans attending a ] ] game between two ] rivals, the ] and the ], at ] initiated ] in response to the news.<ref name="ref-58"/> In addition, at the conclusion of ], a ] event which was occurring at the time, ] ] announced to the audience in attendance the capture and "]" of bin Laden, prompting chants while he exited the arena to the song "]" This resultant euphoria was criticized by progressive<ref name=twsSUPERREFprogressive>{{cite news|title=Progressive references}}
*{{cite news| author=David Sirota| title=Book World: 'The Uprising'|work=The Washington Post| date=June 4, 2008| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/06/02/DI2008060202445.html| accessdate=September 23, 2009}}
*{{cite news| author=Mary Ann Akers| title=Sirota: Journalist or Activist?|work=The Washington Post| date=February 12, 2007| url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2007/02/sirota_journalist_or_activist.html| accessdate=September 23, 2009}}
*{{cite news| author=Terry M. Neal| title=A Rare Sight in Washington: Partisans Back Off|work=The Washington Post| date=September 14, 2005| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/14/AR2005091401752.html| accessdate=September 23, 2009}}
*{{cite news| author=Tobin harshaw| title=Books by David Sirota and George Lakoff – Manic Progressives|work=The New York Times| date=July 23, 2006| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/books/review/23harshaw.html| accessdate=September 23, 2009}}
</ref><ref name="Ref_e">{{cite web|url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/syndicates/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003594372 |title=Editor & Publisher |publisher=Editorandpublisher.com |accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref><ref name=twsSEPcv21>{{cite news| author=David Sirota| title=Book World: 'The Uprising'|work=The Washington Post | date=June 4, 2008| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/06/02/DI2008060202445.html| accessdate=September 23, 2009}}</ref><ref name=twsSEPcv225>{{cite news| author=Nate Silver| title=The Two Progressivisms| publisher=]| date=February 15, 2009| url=http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/02/two-progressivisms.html| accessdate=September 24, 2009}}</ref> columnist ] as an inappropriate reaction to human death.<ref name="ref-125"/>


=== Legality ===
], the deputy leader of Egypt's ], said that, with bin Laden dead, western forces should now pull out of ] and ]; authorities in ] made similar comments.<ref name="ref-59"/> ] leader ] welcomed bin Laden's death; the rival ] administration in the Palestinian ] condemned the killing of an "Arab ]", possibly in order to "cool tensions in the territory with Al-Qaeda inspired ] groups" that consider Hamas "too moderate".<ref name="ref-60"/>
==== Under U.S. law ====
Following the attacks of September 11, the ] passed the ], which authorized the ] to use "necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons" he determines were involved in the attacks.<ref name="Herb/Walsh">{{cite web|last1=Herb|first1=Jeremy|last2=Walsh|first2=Deirdre|title=House panel votes to repeal war authorization for fight against ISIS and al Qaeda|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/29/politics/house-panel-repeal-war-authorization-isis-al-qaeda/index.html|website=CNN|date=29 June 2017|access-date=14 August 2017}}</ref> Congresswoman ] has initiated several attempts to repeal the authorization.<ref name="LeeNPR">{{cite web |last1=Grisales |first1=Claudia |title=In historic, bipartisan move, House votes to repeal 2002 Iraq war powers resolution |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/06/17/1007363054/congress-is-poised-to-take-back-some-of-its-war-powers-from-the-president |website=NPR}}</ref> The ] justified its use of force by relying on that resolution, as well as ] set forth in treaties and customary ].<ref name="ABC_13538365" />
] on May 3, 2011]]


], who served as the ]'s senior lawyer during ]'s second term, said the strike was a legitimate military action and did not run counter to the U.S.' self-imposed prohibition on assassinations:
An unnamed Pakistani government official confirmed to ] on May 2 that bin Laden was killed in the operation.<ref name="ref-53"/> The ] issued a statement on May 2 denying that bin Laden had been killed.<ref name="ref-54"/> Hours later, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said that if bin Laden had, in fact, been killed, it was, "a great victory for us because martyrdom is the aim of all of us" and vowed to take revenge on Pakistan and the United States.<ref name="ref-55"/> Tehrik-i-Taliban later confirmed bin Laden's death.<ref name="ref-124"/>


<blockquote>The killing is not prohibited by the long-standing assassination prohibition in ] , because the action was a military action in the ongoing U.S. armed conflict with al-Qaeda, and it is not prohibited to kill specific leaders of an opposing force. The assassination prohibition does not apply to killings in self-defense.<ref name="killingslegality" /></blockquote>
===Intelligence postmortem===
Evidence seized from the compound is said to include 10 cell phones, five to 10 computers, 12 hard drives, at least 100 "computer disks" (including ] and ]s), handwritten notes, documents, weapons and "an assortment of personal items."<ref name="abcnewsmoney"/><ref name="cbsphonenos"/><ref name="ST6return">{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/navy-seals-return-united-states-killing-osama-bin/story?id=13525344|Navy SEALs Who Captured, Killed Osama Bin Laden Return to United States|coauthors=By PIERRE THOMAS (@PierreTABC) , MARTHA RADDATZ (@martharaddatz) , JAKE TAPPER (@jaketapper) and JESSICA HOPPER|date=May 4, 2011}}</ref>


Similarly, ], ], said in 2010 that "under domestic law, the use of lawful weapons systems—consistent with the applicable laws of war—for precision ] of specific high-level belligerent leaders when acting in self-defense or during an armed conflict is not unlawful, and hence does not constitute 'assassination.'"<ref name="killingslegality" />
A special ] team has been tasked with combing through the digital material and documents removed from the bin Laden compound.<ref name=>{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-evidence-trove-us-al-qaedas/story?id=13517804}}</ref> The material is being stored at the ] in ], where ] experts will analyze ]s, ] and other ] left on the material.<ref name="cbsphonenos">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/04/eveningnews/main20059850.shtml|title=Bin Laden phone numbers help spin intel web|publisher=CBS News|date=May 4, 2011|author=Bob Orr}}</ref>


], director of the ] Center for International Human Rights, said the fact that bin Laden had previously been indicted in 1998 in the ] for conspiracy to attack U.S. defense installations was a complicating factor. "Normally when an individual is under indictment the purpose is to capture that person in order to bring him to court to try him&nbsp;... The object is not to literally ] him if he's under indictment."<ref name="reuters-legality" /> Scheffer and another expert stated that it was important to determine whether the mission was to capture bin Laden or to kill him. If the Navy SEALs were instructed to kill bin Laden without trying first to capture him, it "may have violated American ideals if not international law."<ref name="reuters-legality" />
Intelligence analysts will also study call records from two phone numbers that were found to be sewn into bin Laden's clothing.<ref name="cbsphonenos"/>


==== Under international law ====
==Earlier death reports==
In an address to the ], Pakistan's Prime Minister ] said, "Our people are rightly incensed on the issue of violation of sovereignty as typified by the covert U.S. air and ground assault on the Osama hideout in Abbottabad.&nbsp;... The Security Council, while exhorting UN member states to join their efforts against terrorism, has repeatedly emphasized that this be done in accordance with ], human rights and ]."<ref name="pmspeech" /> Former Pakistani President Gen. ] denied a report in ''The Guardian'' that his government made a secret agreement permitting U.S. forces to conduct unilateral raids in search of the top three al-Qaeda leaders.<ref name="secretagreement" />
] listing bin Laden as deceased on the ] on May 3, 2011.]]
{{main|History of Osama bin Laden death reports}}
Prior to the reported killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011, there had multiple past reports in the media that bin Laden was dead.


In testimony before the U.S. ], Attorney General ] said, "The operation against bin Laden was justified as an act of national self-defense. It's lawful to target an enemy commander in the field." He called the killing of bin Laden "a tremendous step forward in attaining justice for the nearly 3,000 innocent Americans who were murdered on September 11, 2001."<ref name="holdersenate" /> Commenting on the legality under international law, ] Law Professor Steven Ratner said, "A lot of it depends on whether you believe Osama bin Laden is a combatant in a war or a suspect in a mass murder." In the latter case, "you would{{nbsp}}... be able to kill a suspect if they represented an immediate threat."<ref name="reuters-legality" />
==Previous attempts to capture or kill bin Laden==
]
{{see also|Battle of Tora Bora}}


Holder testified that bin Laden made no attempt to surrender, and "even if he had there would be a good basis on the part of those very brave Navy SEAL team members to do what they did in order to protect themselves and the other people who were in that building."<ref name="holdersenate" /> According to Anthony Dworkin, an international law expert at the ], if bin Laden was '']'' (as his daughter is said to have alleged)<ref name="shotdead" /> that would have been a violation of ] of the ].<ref name="expertsdivided" />
*'''February 1994:''' A team of ]ns attacked bin Laden's home in the ]. The government{{clarify|date=May 2011}} investigated and reported that they had been hired by ], but Saudi Arabia accused them of lying to make bin Laden more amenable to Sudanese interests.<ref name="ref-128"/>
*'''August 20, 1998:''' In ], the US Navy launched 66 cruise missiles at a suspected al Qaeda training camp outside ], where bin Laden was expected to be. Reports said that 30 people may have been killed.<ref name="post"/>
*'''2000:''' Foreign operatives working on behalf of the CIA fired a ] at a convoy of vehicles in which bin Laden was traveling through the mountains of Afghanistan, hitting one of the vehicles but not the one in which bin Laden was riding.<ref name="cbs"/>
*'''December 2001:''' During the opening stages of the war in Afghanistan launched following the ], the U.S. and its allies believed that bin Laden was hiding in the rugged mountains at Tora Bora. Despite overrunning the Taliban and al-Qaeda positions they failed to capture or kill him.<ref name="NY Times Magazine">"", '']'', Sept. 11, 2005.</ref>


Former ] ] said it was unclear if bin Laden's killing was justified self-defense or ],<ref name="ferencz_g">{{cite news|last1=MacAskill|first1=Ewen|last2=Walsh|first2=Declan|last3=Borger|first3=Julian|title=US confirms it will not release Osama bin Laden death photo|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/04/osama-bin-laden-photos-raid|access-date=August 10, 2016|work=The Guardian|date=May 4, 2011}}</ref> and that "killing a captive who poses no immediate threat is a crime under military law as well as all other law,"<ref name="ferencz_b">{{cite news|last1=Lewis|first1=Aidan|title=Osama Bin Laden: Legality of killing questioned|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13318372|access-date=August 10, 2016|publisher=BBC News Online|date=May 12, 2011}}</ref> a view also held by legal scholar ].<ref name="ferencz_g" />
==Conspiracy theories==
{{main|Death of Osama bin Laden conspiracy theories}}
The statement that bin Laden died on May 2, 2011, was not universally accepted,<ref>{{cite news|last=Gold |first=Matea |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bin-laden-conspiracy-20110503,0,3052618.story |title=Osama bin Laden dead: Bin Laden's burial at sea fuels 'death hoax' rumor |work=Los Angeles Times |date= May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref> despite assertions made in the media that DNA testing was conducted to verify his identity.<ref name=ABCNews/><ref name="ref-13"/><ref name="ref-113"/> The swift burial of bin Laden's body at sea, speed of the DNA results, and decision by Obama to not release pictures of the dead body formed the basis of conspiracy theories that bin Laden had not died in the May 2 raid.<ref>{{cite news|last=Egan |first=Mark |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/03/us-binladen-conspiracies-idUSTRE7427LY20110503 |title=Bin Laden dead? Again? Conspiracy theories abound |agency=Reuters |date=April 26, 2011 |accessdate=May 4, 2011}}</ref> Several Facebook groups sprung up with titles such as 'Osama bin Laden NOT DEAD'". Some internet blogs suggested that the U.S. government feigned the raid, and some internet forums hosted debates over the alleged hoax.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8489304/Osama-bin-Laden-killed-conspiracy-theories-proliferate-in-wake-of-raid.html|title=Osama bin Laden killed: conspiracy theories proliferate in wake of raid|date=May 3, 2011|work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK |accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


The UN Security Council released a statement applauding the news of bin Laden's death, and ] ] said he was "very much relieved."<ref name="bankimoon" /> Two ]s issued a joint statement seeking more information regarding the circumstances in which bin Laden was killed and cautioning that "actions taken by States in combating terrorism, especially in high profile cases, set precedents for the way in which the right to life will be treated in future instances."<ref name="twoexperts" />
==See also==
{{Portalbox|Pakistan|Military of the United States|Terrorism|Death}}
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{{Clear}}


=== Handling of the body ===
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2011}}
Under Islamic tradition, burial at sea is considered inappropriate when other, preferred forms of burial are available, and several prominent Islamic clerics criticized the decision.<ref name="ref-47" /><ref name="ref-46" /><ref name="ref-117" /> ], the head of ], Egypt's seat of ] Muslim learning, said the disposal of the body at sea was an affront to religious and human values.<ref name="ref-118" /> Scholars like el-Tayeb hold that sea burials can be allowed only in special cases where the death occurred aboard a ship, and that the regular practice should have occurred in this case—the body buried in the ground with the head pointing to Islam's holy city of ].<ref name="ref-41" />


A stated advantage of a burial at sea is that the site is not readily identified or accessed, thus preventing it from becoming a focus of attention or "terrorist shrine."<ref name="ref-41" /> '']'' questioned whether bin Laden's grave would have become a shrine, as this is strongly discouraged in ]. Addressing the same concern, Egyptian Islamic analyst and lawyer ] said that if the Americans wished to avoid making a ] to bin Laden, an unmarked grave on land would have accomplished the same goal.<ref name="ref-46" />
==References==


''The Guardian'' also quoted a U.S. official explaining the anticipated difficulty of finding a country that would accept the burial of bin Laden in its soil.<ref name="guardian01" /> A professor of ] at the ] stated burying at sea was permitted if there was nobody to receive the body and provide a Muslim burial,<ref>{{cite news |title=Islamic scholars criticize bin Laden's sea burial |first=Hamza |last=Hendawi |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/may/02/islamic-scholars-criticize-bin-ladens-sea-burial/ |work=] |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 4, 2011}}</ref> but that "it's neither true nor correct to claim that there was nobody in the Muslim world ready to receive bin Laden's body."<ref name="ref-46" /> On a similar note, Mohammed al-Qubaisi, Dubai's grand ], stated: "They can say they buried him at sea, but they cannot say they did it according to Islam. If the family does not want him, it's really simple in Islam: you dig up a grave anywhere, even on a remote island, you say the prayers and that's it. Sea burials are permissible for Muslims in extraordinary circumstances. This is not one of them."<ref name="ref-46" /> Khalid Latif, an ] who serves as a chaplain and the director of the Islamic Center of ], argued that the sea burial was respectful.<ref name="ref-120" />
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{{Reflist|30em|refs=


Leor Halevi, a professor at ] and the author of ''Muhammad's Grave: Death Rites and the Making of Islamic Society'', explained that Islamic law does not prescribe ordinary funerals for those killed in battle, and pointed to controversy within the Muslim world over whether bin Laden was, as a "mass murderer of Muslims," entitled to the same respect as mainstream Muslims. At the same time, he suggested that the burial could have been handled with more cultural sensitivity.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/opinion/08halevi.html |work=The New York Times |first=Leor |last=Halevi |title=Watery Grave, Murky Law |date=May 7, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-99">'']'', May 2, 2011.</ref>


], son of Osama bin Laden, published a complaint on May 10, 2011, that the burial at sea deprived the family of a proper burial.<ref>. ''The New York Times''. May 10, 2011.</ref>
<ref name="ref-90">Rebecca Boyle, "" (May 2, 2011). ''Popular Science''.</ref>


=== Bin Laden's will ===
<ref name="ref-111">{{cite news|last=Ali|first=Asif|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/pakistan-did-its-part/2011/05/02/AFHxmybF_story.html|title=Pakistan did its part|work=The Washington Post|date=May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>
After bin Laden's death, it was reported he had left a will written a short time after the September 11 attacks<ref>{{cite news|last=Black|first=Ian|title=Bin Laden's will says his children must not join al-Qaida|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/03/bin-laden-will-wives-children|work=The Guardian|date=May 3, 2011|location=London}}</ref> in which he urged his children not to join al-Qaeda and not to continue the Jihad.<ref>{{cite news|last=Flock|first=Elizabeth|title=Osama bin Laden tells his children not to fight jihad in his will|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/osama-bin-laden-tells-children-not-to-fight-jihad-in-his-will/2011/05/04/AFDP4UmF_blog.html|access-date=October 12, 2011|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 4, 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201218121252/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/osama-bin-laden-tells-children-not-to-fight-jihad-in-his-will/2011/05/04/AFDP4UmF_blog.html|archive-date = December 18, 2020}}</ref>


=== Release of photographs ===
<ref name="ref-96">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-dead.html|title=Obama Calls World 'Safer' After Pakistan Raid|work=The New York Times |first1=Steven Lee|last1=Myers|first2=Elisabeth|last2=Bumiller|date=May 2, 2011 }}</ref>
] cited a senior U.S. official as saying three sets of photographs of bin Laden's body exist: photos taken at an ] in Afghanistan, described as the most recognizable and gruesome; photos taken from the burial at sea on {{USS|Carl Vinson}} before a shroud was placed around his body; and photos from the raid itself, which include shots of the interior of the compound as well as three of the others who died in the raid.<ref name="cnnpictures" />


'']'' reported that the photo shows that the bullet which hit above bin Laden's left eye blew out his left eyeball and blew away a large portion of his frontal skull, exposing his brain.<ref>], May 4, 2011.</ref> CNN stated that the pictures from the Afghanistan hangar depict "a massive open head wound across both eyes. It's very bloody and gory."<ref name="cnnpictures" /> ] ] said the photos taken of the body on the ''Carl Vinson'', which showed bin Laden's face after much of the blood and material had been washed away, should be released to the public.<ref name="photographicproof" />
<ref name="ref-88">{{cite news|url=http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/video-inside-bin-ladens-drone-proof-compound/|title=Video: Inside bin Laden's Drone-Proof Compound|date=May 2, 2011 }}</ref>


A debate on whether the military photos should be released to the public took place.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/05/to-release-or-not-to-release-bin-laden-death-photos-spark-debate/1 |title=White House: Releasing 'gruesome' bin Laden photo could be 'inflammatory' |work=USA Today |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=May 3, 2011 |first=Michael |last=Winter}}</ref> Those supporting the release argued that the photos should be considered ],<ref>Kevin Drum, " (May 4, 2011). ''Mother Jones''.</ref><ref>Kevin Drum, (May 4, 2011). ''Mother Jones''.</ref> that they are necessary to complete the journalistic record,<ref>Alice Park, (May 5, 2011), interview with Barbie Zelizer. ''Time''.</ref> and that they would prove bin Laden's death and therefore prevent ]. Those in opposition expressed concern that the photos would inflame ] in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/desire-osama-bin-laden-death-photo-grows/story?id=13516795 |title=Release Bin Laden Death Photos? CIA Director Thinks It Will Happen|publisher=ABC News |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=May 3, 2011}}</ref>
<!--<ref name="ref-79">{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/osama-bin-laden-operation-code-geronimo/story?id=13507836|title=Osama Bin Laden Operation Ended With Coded Message 'Geronimo-E KIA'|author=Jake Tapper|publisher=ABC News|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref>not currently in use-->
<!--<ref name="ref-112">'']'', "", May 3, 2011.</ref> -->
<ref name="ref-97">{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704569404576299500647391240.html|title=U.S. Rolled Dice in bin Laden Raid|last=Gorman|first=Siobhan|last2=Entous|first2=Adam|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


Obama decided not to release the photos.<ref name="abcnophotos" /> In an interview aired on May{{nbsp}}4 on '']'', he said: "We don't trot out this stuff as trophies. We don't need to ]." Obama said that he was concerned with ensuring that "very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence, or as a propaganda tool. That's not who we are."<ref name="kroft" /> Among Republican members of Congress, Senator ] criticized the decision and said he wanted to see the photos released, while Senator ] and Representative ], the chair of the ], supported the decision.<ref>James Rosen and Steven Thomma, "" (May 5, 2011) McClatchy Newspapers.</ref><ref>Domenico Montanaro, (May 4, 2011), NBC News.</ref>
<ref name="nytimes1">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-dead.html|title=Obama Calls World Safer After Death of Bin Laden|last=Myers|first=Steven Lee|coauthors=Elisabeth Bumiller|date=May 3, 2011|work=The New York Times|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


On May 11, selected members of ] (the congressional leadership and those who serve on the House and Senate intelligence, homeland security, judiciary, foreign relations, and armed forces committees) were shown 15 bin Laden photos. In an interview with ], Senator Jim Inhofe said that three of the photos were of bin Laden alive for identification reference. Three other photos were of the burial-at-sea ceremony.<ref> (May 11, 2011), CNN.</ref>
<ref name="ref-86">{{cite news| url=http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/02/general-us-bin-laden-clinton-pakistan_8445354.html|title=Clinton: Pakistan helped lead US to bin Laden|date=May 2, 2011<!--, 12:53&nbsp;pm EDT-->| agency=Associated Press|work=Forbes|accessdate=May 2, 2011|location=Washington, DC}}</ref>


The group ] filed a ] request to obtain access to the photos in May 2011, soon after the raid.<ref>Kevin Bogardus, (May 5, 2011). ''The Hill''.</ref><ref name="foia" /> On May 9, the Department of Defense declined to process Judicial Watch's FOIA request, prompting Judicial Watch to file a federal lawsuit.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/05/first-suit-filed-bin-laden-death-photos/37689|title=First Lawsuit Filed for Bin Laden Death Photos|first=John|last=Hudson|publisher=The Atlantic Wire|access-date=July 1, 2011|archive-date=June 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619132815/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/05/first-suit-filed-bin-laden-death-photos/37689|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2012, Judge ] of the ] issued a ruling denying release of the photographs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/26/justice/bin-laden-photos/index.html|title=Federal judge blocks release of bin Laden death photos|first=Bill |last=Mears|publisher=CNN|access-date=April 27, 2012|date=April 27, 2012}}</ref> In May 2013, a three-judge panel of the ] consisting of Chief Judge ], Senior Judge ], and Judge ] affirmed the ruling, holding that 52 post-mortem images were properly classified as "top secret" and exempt from disclosure.<ref>Mike Scarcella, , Blog of the Legal Times (May 21, 2014).</ref> Judicial Watch filed a petition for a ] in August 2013, seeking ] review, but in January 2014 the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.<ref>David Kravets, , ''Wired'' (August 18, 2013).</ref><ref>.</ref><ref>Christopher Hopkins, , ''Internet Law Commentary'' (January 14, 2015).</ref>
<!--<ref name="ref-104">Roggio, Bill, "", '']'', May 2, 2011.</ref>-->


The ] filed a FOIA request for photographs and videos taken during the Abbottabad raid less than one day after bin Laden was killed.<ref>John Hudson, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518154323/http://www.thewire.com/politics/2011/05/associated-press-case-releasing-bin-laden-photo/37510/ |date=May 18, 2015 }}, ''The Wire'' (May 10, 2011).</ref><ref name="Lardner">Richard Lardner, , Associated Press (May 18, 2011, updated July 18, 2011).</ref> The AP also requested "contingency plans for bin Laden's capture, reports on the performance of equipment during the mission and copies of DNA tests" confirming bin Laden's identity.<ref name="Lardner" /> The Defense Department rejected the AP's request for expedited processing, a legal provision to shorten the amount of time to process FOIA requests. The Defense Department rejected the request, and the AP administratively appealed.<ref name="Lardner" />
<!--<ref name="ref-100">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/osama-bin-laden-killed-abbottabad-raid|title=40 minutes of fighting, and then two fatal shots|work=The Guardian | location=London|first1=Esther|last1=Addley|first2=Ewen|last2=MacAskill|first3=Declan|last3=Walsh|date=May 3, 2011}}</ref>-->


=== Alternative accounts ===
<ref name="ref-113">{{cite news|last=Lee|first=Steven|url= http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-dead.html|title=Obama Calls World Safer After Death of Bin Laden|location=Pakistan|work=The New York Times |date=May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>
==== ''Seal Target Geronimo'' ====
A book published in November 2011, ''Seal Target Geronimo'', by ], a former SEAL, contradicted elements of the account as given by U.S. government sources.


Per Pfarrer, the primary helicopters used in the operation were designated Razor 1 and Razor 2.<ref name=":0">978-1-4299-6025-0, SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden by Chuck Pfarrer, pages 180–181 (Razor 1 and Razor 2), page 153 (Ghost Hawks), page 182 (Chinooks: Command Bird and Gun Platform)</ref> These helicopters, which were only used by elite U.S. special-operations units (namely the U.S. Navy's DEVGRU and the U.S. Army's ]), were colloquially called ''Ghost Hawks'' due to their advanced stealth functions.<ref name=":0" /> The pilots of both Ghost Hawks each had at least a decade of experience flying stealth helicopters in ].<ref name=":0" /> Razor 1 carried 10 assaulters (including some specially trained as ]), and two ] with expertise in strategically deploying explosives. Razor 2 also carried a ] of 12 American commandos, including a two-man sniper team that had participated in resolving the 2009 ], and a designated ] who was responsible for directing the team's weaponsfire.<ref name=":0" /> Pfarrer's account also suggests that the helicopter or helicopters heard hovering in Abbottabad that night were the Chinooks.<ref name=":0" /> One, which would have been referred to as the ''command bird'', carried the officers running the operation and all of the members of Red Squadron who were not already assigned to approach the compound via Razors 1 and 2. The second Chinook, which Pfarrer calls the gun platform, was equipped with three ] (]-style cannons), which would be used to provide ] from the air if need be.<ref name=":0" />
<ref name="ref-84">{{cite web|author=<!--start post navigation--> Previous post Next post|url=http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/video-inside-bin-ladens-drone-proof-compound/all/1|title=Video: Inside bin Laden's Drone-Proof Compound , Danger Room|work=Wired|date=January 4, 2009|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


According to Pfarrer, neither helicopter crashed at the beginning of the raid. Instead, the SEALs jumped onto the roof from the hovering Razor{{nbsp}}1 helicopter and entered a third-floor hallway from the roof terrace. Osama's third wife, Khairah, was in the hallway, headed towards the SEALs. She was blinded by a ] and pushed to the floor as the SEALs went past her. Osama bin Laden stuck his head out of a bedroom door, saw the SEALs, and slammed the door closed. At the same time, Osama's son Khalid bin Laden ran up the stairs to the third floor and was killed with two shots.<ref name="nypost18">], "", '']'', November 6, 2011, p. 18.</ref><ref name="Pfarrer">{{cite book|last=Pfarrer|first=Chuck|title=SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden|year=2011|publisher=St.Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-250-00635-6|pages=|url=https://archive.org/details/sealtargetgeroni00pfar_0/page/190}}</ref>
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Two SEALs broke through the bedroom door. Bin Laden's wife Amal was on the edge of the bed shouting in Arabic at the SEALs, and Osama bin Laden dived across the bed, shoving Amal at the same time, for an ] kept by the headboard. The SEALs fired four shots at bin Laden; the first missed, the second grazed Amal in the calf also missing bin Laden, and the final two hit bin Laden in the chest and head, killing him instantly. In Pfarrer's account, the total time elapsed from jumping on the roof to Osama bin Laden's death was between 30 and 90 seconds.<ref name="nypost18" /><ref name="Pfarrer" />
<ref name="ref-87">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/president-obama-had-authorized-bombing-of-compound-in-march-but-wanting-evidence-of-obls-death-cance.html|title=In March, President Obama Authorized Development of Plan to Bomb Compound but Wanting Evidence of OBL's Death, Did Not Execute*- Political Punch|publisher=ABC News|date=February 5, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


Around the same time, snipers in the hovering Razor{{nbsp}}2 helicopter shot and killed Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti when he came to the door of the guest house firing an AK-47. One SEAL sniper fired two shots at al-Kuwaiti and the other fired two three-round bursts. Two of the snipers' bullets went through al-Kuwaiti and killed his wife who was standing behind him. The Razor{{nbsp}}2 team cleared the guest house and then breached their way into the main house with explosives. As the Razor{{nbsp}}2 team entered the main house, al-Qaeda courier Arshad Khan pointed his AK-47 gun and was killed with two shots. The SEAL team fired a total of 16 shots, killing Osama bin Laden, Khalid bin Laden, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, and al-Kuwaiti's wife, Arshad Khan, and wounding Osama bin Laden's wife Amal al-Sadah.<ref name="nypost18" /><ref name="Pfarrer" />
<ref name="ref-109">{{cite news|author=Kimberly Dozier|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/02/national/w192252D60.DTL|title=US official: 23 children, 9 women with bin Laden |agency=Associated Press|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011|work=The San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref>


Twenty minutes into the operation, Razor{{nbsp}}1 took off from the roof of the main house to reposition to a landing spot outside the compound. As Razor{{nbsp}}1 was crossing over the courtyard, both "green unit" flight deck control systems went off line. The helicopter settled slowly, bounced off the ground, and then broke apart as it hit the ground a second time. Both failed green units were removed for later examination.<ref name="nypost18" /><ref name="Pfarrer" />
<ref name="Reid">{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1212851/Has-Osama-Bin-Laden-dead-seven-years--U-S-Britain-covering-continue-war-terror.html|title=Has Osama Bin Laden been dead for seven years – and are the U.S. and Britain covering it up to continue war on terror?|Mail Online|last=Reid|first=Sue|date=September 11, 2009|work=Daily Mail |location=UK |accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


Media accounts had reported that the plan had been to ] to the inner courtyard and to clear the main house from the ground floor up. The helicopter crashed in the outer courtyard with the SEAL team still on board. The SEAL team exited and needed to breach two walls and then into the house. As a result, Osama bin Laden was killed several minutes into the operation.<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" /> Pfarrer's account differs in that he wrote that a SEAL team was inserted onto the roof of the main house, that Osama bin Laden was killed seconds into the operation, and that the main house was cleared from the top down.<ref name="Pfarrer" />
<ref name="GN20110503">{{cite web|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/compound-in-pakistan-was-once-a-safe-house-1.802539|title=Compound in Pakistan was once a safe house|last=Ahmed|first=Ashfaq|work=]|date=May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


The ] disputed Pfarrer's account of the raid, calling it "incorrect."<ref name="Carroll2011">{{cite news |url=http://www.stripes.com/blogs/stripes-central/stripes-central-1.8040/pentagon-says-new-bin-laden-raid-book-gets-details-wrong-1.160041 |title=Pentagon says new bin Laden raid book gets details wrong |access-date=December 5, 2011 |last=Carroll |first=Chris |date=November 7, 2011 |work=]}}</ref> The ] also disputed Pfarrer's account, saying, "It's just not true. It's not how it happened."<ref>Dozier, Kimberly, (]), "", ], November 15, 2011; Retrieved November 15, 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Former Navy Seal's book on Bin Laden's death branded 'fabrication' |agency=Associated Press |work=The Guardian |date=November 15, 2011 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/15/navy-seal-book-bin-laden-chuck-pfarrer |location=London}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-89">Declan Walsh, Esther Addley, and Ewen MacAskill, "" (May 2, 2011). ''The Guardian''.</ref>


==== ''No Easy Day'' ====
<ref name="politico1">{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54151.html|title=Osama bin Laden raid yields trove of computer data }}</ref>
{{Main|No Easy Day}}
]
], a SEAL who participated in the raid, wrote an account of the mission in the book '']'' (2012), which significantly contradicts Pfarrer's account. Bissonnette wrote that the helicopter approach and landing matched the official version. According to Bissonnette, when bin Laden peered out at the Americans advancing on his third-floor room, the SEAL who fired upon him hit him on the right side of the head. Bin Laden stumbled into his bedroom, where the SEALs found him crumpled and twitching on the floor in a pool of blood and brain matter, with two women crying over his body. The other SEALs allegedly grabbed the women, moved them away, and shot several rounds into bin Laden's chest until he was motionless. According to Bissonnette, the weapons in the room—an AK-47 rifle and a ]—were unloaded.<ref name=Owen_book>{{cite book|last1=Owen|first1=Mark|title=No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden|date=September 4, 2012|publisher=Dutton Penguin|isbn=978-0-525-95372-2|url=https://archive.org/details/noeasyday00mark|url-access=registration}}</ref>


Unlike the official account, Bissonnette's version alleges that bin Laden's wife Mariam was uninjured in the raid.{{page needed|date=November 2019}} In addition, Bissonnette states that the report of bin Laden's daughter Safia having splintered wood striking her foot is false, as he explains that it was rather his wife Amal who was injured by such fragments.<ref name=Owen_book />
<ref name="ref-82">{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/US/osama-bin-laden-dead-navy-seal-team-responsible/story?id=13509739|title=Osama Bin Laden Dead: The Navy SEALs Who Hunted and Killed Al Qaeda Leader|author=Michael Murray|publisher=ABC News|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref>


The author also asserted that one SEAL sat on bin Laden's chest in a cramped helicopter as his body was flown back to Afghanistan.<ref name="Sky20120829">{{cite web|last=Kiley|first=Sam|title=Navy SEAL Casts Doubt On Bin Laden's Death|url=http://news.sky.com/story/978517/navy-seal-casts-doubt-on-bin-ladens-death|publisher=Sky News|access-date=August 30, 2012|date=August 29, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Warrick|first=Joby|title=Ex-SEAL's book says Osama bin Laden made no attempt to defend himself in raid |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ex-seals-book-says-osama-bin-laden-made-no-attempt-to-defend-himself-in-raid/2012/08/29/1b8fe832-f214-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html|access-date=August 30, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 30, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-120">Latif, Khalid. "." CNN. May 2, 2011. Retrieved on May 3, 2011.</ref>


Bissonnette stated that a search of bin Laden's room after his death uncovered a bottle of ] hair dye.<ref>Brook, Tom Vanden, "Two Sides Of Story On Revelations By Ex-Navy SEAL", '']'', September 5, 2012, p. 2</ref>
<ref name="ref-94">{{cite news| publisher=ABC News|date=May 2, 2011|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/president-obama-to-national-security-team-its-a-go-.html|title=President Obama to national security team: it's a go}}</ref>


==== ''Esquire'' interview ====
<ref name="Guard20110502">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/osama-bin-laden-pakistan-awkward-questions|title=Osama bin Laden: Dead, but how did he hide so long?|date=May 2, 2011|work=The Guardian|accessdate=May 2, 2011|location=London|first1=Ewen|last1=MacAskill|first2=Declan|last2=Walsh}}</ref>
In February 2013, '']'' conducted an interview with an anonymous individual called "the shooter" who said that bin Laden placed one of his wives between himself and the commandos, pushing her towards them. "Shooter" then claimed bin Laden stood up and had a gun "within reach" and it was only then that he fired two shots into bin Laden's forehead, killing him.<ref name="esquire.com" /> Another member of ] said the story as presented in ''Esquire'' was false and "complete BS".<ref name="cnn.com">Berge, Peter , CNN, March 27, 2013</ref> Then, in November 2014, former SEAL Robert O'Neill disclosed his identity as the shooter in a series of interviews with '']''.<ref name="wp 20141106">{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ex-seal-robert-oneill-reveals-himself-as-shooter-who-killed-osama-bin-laden/2014/11/06/2bf46f3e-65dc-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_print.html | title=Ex-SEAL Robert O'Neill reveals himself as shooter who killed Osama bin Laden | first=Joby | last=Warrick | date=November 6, 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |location=Washington, DC | access-date=November 6, 2014}}</ref><ref name="usatoday 20141106" />


==== Hillhouse and Hersh reports ====
<ref name="ref-122">{{cite web| date=May 2, 2011|url= http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110502/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_bin_laden_burial_video_1|title=AP sources: bin Laden burial video may be released|publisher=Yahoo! News|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>
{{Main|Seymour Hersh#Death of Osama bin Laden}}
In 2011 American intelligence analyst Raelynn Hillhouse wrote that according to U.S. intelligence sources, the U.S. had been tipped-off to bin Laden's location by an unnamed Pakistani intelligence insider collecting the $25 million reward. According to the sources, Pakistan purposely stood-down its armed forces to allow the U.S. raid, and the original plan was to kill—not capture—bin Laden. Hillhouse's sources stated that the Pakistanis had been keeping bin Laden under house arrest near their military headquarters in Abbottabad with money provided by the Saudis.<ref name="crilly">{{cite news|last1=Crilly|first1=Rob|title=Osama bin Laden was 'protected by Pakistan in return for Saudi cash', analyst claims|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8693547/Osama-bin-Laden-was-protected-by-Pakistan-in-return-for-Saudi-cash-analyst-claims.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8693547/Osama-bin-Laden-was-protected-by-Pakistan-in-return-for-Saudi-cash-analyst-claims.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=July 20, 2016|agency=The Telegraph|date=August 10, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> According to ''The Telegraph'', Hillhouse's account might explain why U.S. forces encountered no resistance on their way to and in Abbottabad, and why some residents in Abbottabad were warned to stay in their houses the day before the raid.<ref name=crilly /> Hillhouse later also said bin Laden's body had been thrown out of a helicopter over the ]. Hillhouse's account was picked up and published internationally.<ref name="inter">{{cite news|last1=Schwarz|first1=Jon|title=Sy Hersh's bin Laden Story First Reported in 2011—With Seemingly Different Sources|url=https://theintercept.com/2015/05/11/former-professor-reported-basics-hershs-bin-laden-story-2011-seemingly-different-sources/|access-date=October 10, 2015|work=]|date=May 11, 2015}}</ref>


In May 2015, a detailed article in the '']'' by journalist ] said that the Pakistani ] (ISI) had kept bin Laden under house arrest at Abbottabad since 2006, and that Pakistani Army chief ] and ISI director ] aided the U.S. mission to kill, not capture bin Laden.<ref name=hersh>{{cite magazine|last1=Hersh|first1=Seymour|title=The Killing of Osama bin Laden|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n10/seymour-m-hersh/the-killing-of-osama-bin-laden|access-date=May 11, 2015|agency=The London Review of Books|magazine=The London Review of Books|date=May 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Osama Bin Laden was an unarmed elderly 'invalid' when Navy Seals killed him and Barack Obama lied about the mission, report claims|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/osama-bin-laden-was-an-unarmed-elderly-invalid-when-navy-seals-killed-him-and-barack-obama-lied-about-the-mission-report-claims-10241635.html|access-date=May 11, 2015|work=The Independent|date=May 11, 2015}}</ref> According to Hersh, Pakistani officials were always aware of bin Laden's location and were guarding the compound with their own soldiers. Pakistan decided to give up bin Laden's location to the U.S. because American aid was declining. Pakistani officials were aware of the raid, and assisted the U.S. in carrying it out. According to Hersh, bin Laden was basically an invalid.<ref>], "", '']'', May 21, 2015</ref>
<ref name="ref-110">{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54080.html|title=Wild moments during daring SEAL assault|date=May 2, 2011 }}</ref>


Hersh's U.S. and Pakistani intelligence sources stated that the U.S. had learned of bin Laden's location through a Pakistani ] seeking the $25 million reward, and not through tracking a courier.<ref name=hersh /><ref name=intercepthersh>{{cite news|last1=Schwarz|first1=Jon|last2=Devereaux|first2=Ryan|title=Claim: Sy Hersh's bin Laden Story is True – But Old News|url=https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/11/former-professor-reported-basics-hershs-bin-laden-story-2011-seemingly-different-sources/|access-date=May 12, 2015|agency=The Intercept|date=May 12, 2015|archive-date=June 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612120317/https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/05/11/former-professor-reported-basics-hershs-bin-laden-story-2011-seemingly-different-sources/|url-status=dead}}</ref> NBC News and ] subsequently reported that their sources indicated a walk-in was an extremely valuable asset, though the sources disputed that the walk-in knew the location of bin Laden.<ref name=NBChersh>{{cite news|last1=Cole|first1=Matthew|last2=Esposito|first2=Richard|last3=Windrem|first3=Robert|last4=Mitchell|first4=Andrea|title=Pakistanis Knew Where Osama Bin Laden Was, U.S. Sources Say|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pakistanis-knew-where-bin-laden-was-say-us-sources-n357306|access-date=May 12, 2015|publisher=NBC News|date=May 11, 2015}}</ref><ref name=afpbinladen>{{cite news|title=Pakistan military officials admit defector's key role in Bin Laden operation|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1181530/pakistan-military-officials-admit-defectors-key-role-in-bin-laden-operation|access-date=May 18, 2015|agency=Agence France Presse|work=Dawn|date=May 12, 2015}}</ref> Pakistan-based journalist Amir Mir in the '']'' reported the walk-in's identity to be Usman Khalid, though that allegation was denied by Khalid's family.<ref>{{cite web|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/11616775/Was-Osama-bin-Laden-brought-down-by-a-London-pensioner.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/11616775/Was-Osama-bin-Laden-brought-down-by-a-London-pensioner.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|author=Colin Freeman|date=May 19, 2015|access-date=June 14, 2015|title=Was Osama bin Laden brought down by a London pensioner?}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-108">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bin-laden-raid-20110503,0,7245803.story|title=How Bin Laden met his end|work=Los Angeles Times | first1=Bob|last1=Drogin|first2=Christi|last2=Parsons|first3=Ken|last3=Dilanian|date=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


Although similar in claims, both Hillhouse's and Hersh's accounts of the bin Laden death appeared to be based on different sources which '']'' concluded might corroborate the claims if their identities were known. After the Hersh story broke, ] also independently reported that a Pakistani intelligence officer was the source of the original bin Laden location report, and not the courier.<ref name="inter" />
<ref name="ref-121">{{cite web|url=http://www.freep.com/article/20110503/NEWS05/105030384/Bin-Laden-s-burial-sea-criticized-by-metro-Detroit-funeral-home-operators|title=Bin Laden's burial at sea criticized by metro Detroit funeral home operators, Detroit Free Press, May&nbsp;3, 2011|publisher=Freep.com|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


The White House denied Hersh's report.<ref>{{cite news|title=White House dismisses new Osama bin Laden raid claims|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11597928/White-House-dismisses-new-Osama-bin-Laden-raid-claims.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11597928/White-House-dismisses-new-Osama-bin-Laden-raid-claims.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=May 11, 2015|work=Telegraph|date=May 11, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Utter nonsense': CIA and White House blast Seymour Hersh's explosive Osama bin Laden raid story |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/05/11/utter-nonsense-cia-and-white-house-blast-explosive-osama-bin-laden-raid-story/|access-date=May 11, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 11, 2015}}</ref> A former intelligence official who had direct knowledge of the operation speculated that the Pakistanis, who were furious that the operation took place without being detected by them, were behind the conflicting story as a way to save face.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Bryan |last1=Bender |last2=Philip Ewing |title=U.S. officials fuming over Hersh account of Osama bin Laden raid |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/seymour-hersh-bin-laden-raid-officials-criticism-117826.html |work=] |date=May 11, 2015 |access-date=May 11, 2015}}</ref> Pakistani journalist ] in '']'' finds the cooperation between the CIA and ISI that Hersh describes "inconceivable," in part because 2011 was "the worst year in ] since the late 1980s" and "hatred and mistrust" between the CIA and ISI was "acute"—something Hersh does not mention. Among the incidents that occurred in Pakistan in the months before the killing of bin Laden were the killing of two Pakistanis by CIA contractor ], numerous death threats against the Islamabad CIA station chief after his name was leaked (purportedly by the ISI), the cessation of the issuing of visas for U.S. officials (following which the U.S. consulate in ] was moved to Islamabad over concerns about security), increased U.S. anger over the refusal of Pakistan to exert pressure on the Taliban, the ] and later 24 Pakistani soldiers from U.S. drone strikes; and the cut-off of U.S. supplies to Afghanistan by Pakistan.<ref name="NYRoB-29-9-2016">{{cite journal|last1=Rashid|first1=Ahmed|title=Sy Hersh and Osama bin Laden: The Right and the Wrong |journal=New York Review of Books|date=September 29, 2016|volume=63 |issue=14|pages=30, 32|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/09/29/sy-hersh-osama-bin-laden-right-and-wrong/|access-date=October 5, 2016}}</ref> Peter Bergen countered Hersh's claim that the shots fired at bin Laden were the only ones fired that evening would ignore that bin Laden's bodyguards were also shot and that the building had a multitude of bullet holes. He stated the U.S. government had intercepted the communications of Generals Kayani and Pasha, and their response had shown that neither had any knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bergen |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Bergen |date=2021 |title=The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EC4FEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA239 |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=978-1-9821-7052-3 |pages=239–241}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Bergen |first=Peter |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/11/opinions/bergen-bin-laden-story-a-lie |title=Was there a cover-up in bin Laden killing? |date=May 20, 2015 |publisher=CNN |access-date=March 5, 2023}}</ref> Nelly Lahoud, who analyzed the documents seized during the operation to kill bin Laden, disagrees with Hersh's assertion that bin Laden was an ISI hostage. He stated that even a casual reading of the documents would make it abundantly clear that bin Laden went to great lengths to hide from Pakistani authorities, and it would be inconceivable that bin Laden himself did not know he was being held hostage.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lahoud |first=Nelly |date=2022 |title=The Bin Laden Papers: How the Abbottabad Raid Revealed the Truth about al-Qaeda, Its Leader and His Family |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eoppEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA270 |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-26063-2 |page=270}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-83">{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/03/was-osama-killed-by-us-troops-or-his-own-guard.html|title=Was Osama killed by US troops or his own guard?, Ismail Khan, Dawn 3&nbsp;May 2011|publisher=Dawn.com|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


=== Indian airspace controversy ===
<ref name="MH20110502">{{cite web|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/02/2197771/feinstein-got-early-heads-up-that.html|title=Feinstein got early head's up that something big was on|last=Doyle|first=Michael|date=May 2, 2011|work=The Miami Herald|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>
In the publication ''No Easy Day'', a map of the operation show the U.S. SEALs briefly crossed into ]n territory before its loop approaching Abbottabad in Pakistan, raising questions in India whether the U.S. violated Indian airspace, and if India had advance knowledge about the mission. The ] dismissed claims that the U.S. crossed into Indian airspace.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/latest-news/did-us-choppers-on-kill-osama-bin-laden-mission-violate-indian-airspace/|title=Did US choppers on 'kill' Osama bin Laden mission violate Indian airspace?|date=September 12, 2012|newspaper=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/content/278201/us-choppers-osama-mission-flew.html|date=September 12, 2012|title=US choppers on Osama mission flew over India!|newspaper=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/us-choppers-on-osama-mission-had-crossed-into-indian-air-space-17660.html|title=US choppers on Osama mission had crossed into Indian air space, claims book|date=September 12, 2012|work=]}}</ref>


=== Conspiracy theories ===
<ref name="ref-119">Reliance of the Traveller, Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, p 237, Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Amanah publications, ISBN 0-915957-72-8</ref>
{{Main|Osama bin Laden death conspiracy theories}}
The reports of bin Laden's death on May 2, 2011, are not universally accepted<ref>{{cite news|last=Gold |first=Matea |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bin-laden-conspiracy-20110503,0,3052618.story |title=Osama bin Laden dead: Bin Laden's burial at sea fuels 'death hoax' rumor |work=] |date=May 2, 2011|access-date=May 4, 2011}}</ref> despite unreleased DNA testing confirming his identity,<ref name="ref-96" /><ref name="ref-13" /> bin Laden's twelve-year-old daughter witnessing his death,<ref name="BBC_Intel_Failure" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/04/osama-bin-laden-pakistan-us |location=London |work=The Guardian |first=Declan |last=Walsh |title=Osama bin Laden killing prompts U.S.-Pakistan war of words |access-date=May 13, 2011 |date=May 4, 2011}}</ref> and a May 6, 2011, al-Qaeda statement confirming his death.<ref name="revenge" /> The swift burial of bin Laden's body at sea, the speed of the DNA results, and the decision not to release pictures of the dead body have led to the rise of conspiracy theories that bin Laden had not died in the raid.<ref>{{cite news|last=Egan |first=Mark |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-binladen-conspiracies-idUSTRE7427LY20110503 |title=Bin Laden dead? Again? Conspiracy theories abound |publisher=Reuters |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=May 4, 2011}}</ref> Some blogs suggested that the U.S. government feigned the raid, and some forums hosted debates over the alleged hoax.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8489304/Osama-bin-Laden-killed-conspiracy-theories-proliferate-in-wake-of-raid.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8489304/Osama-bin-Laden-killed-conspiracy-theories-proliferate-in-wake-of-raid.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Osama bin Laden killed: conspiracy theories proliferate in wake of raid |date=May 3, 2011 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |access-date=May 3, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref>


== Role of Pakistan ==
<ref name="Weiner">{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/23/osama-bin-laden-is-dead/|title=WEINER: Osama bin Laden is dead|last=Weiner|first=Robert|coauthors=James Lewis|date=December 23, 2010|work=The Washington Times |accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>
{{See also|Pakistan and Osama bin Laden}}


Pakistan came under intense international scrutiny after the raid. The Pakistani government denied that it had sheltered bin Laden, and said it had shared information with the CIA and other intelligence agencies about the compound since 2009.<ref name="scrutiny" />
<ref name="wsj20110503">{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704569404576299003523779890.html|title=Pakistan's bin Laden Connection Is Probed|last=Solomon|first=Jay|date=May 3, 2011|work=The Wall Street Journal|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


], in her 2014 book '']'', accuses the ], Pakistan's clandestine intelligence service, of hiding and protecting ] and his family after the September 11, 2001 attacks. She claims that she learned from a Pakistani official (with whom she later clarified that she did not speak, the information coming through a friend)<ref name=Gall2015>{{cite news |last=Gall |first=Carlotta |author-link=Carlotta Gall |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/magazine/the-detail-in-seymour-hershs-bin-laden-story-that-rings-true.html_r=1 |title=The Detail in Seymour Hersh's Bin Laden Story That Rings True |date=May 12, 2015 |work=The New York Times Magazine |access-date=September 10, 2016}}</ref> that a senior U.S. official had told him that the United States had direct evidence that ] (ISI) chief, ] ], knew of bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad, but ISI, Pasha and officials in Washington all deny this:<ref name=Gall2014>{{cite news |last=Gall |first=Carlotta |author-link=Carlotta Gall |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/magazine/what-pakistan-knew-about-bin-laden.html |title=What Pakistan Knew About Bin Laden |date=March 19, 2014 |work=The New York Times |access-date=March 19, 2014}}</ref> "C.I.A. and other Obama administration officials have said they possess no evidence—no intercepts, no unreleased documents from Abbottabad—that Kayani or Pasha or any other I.S.I. officer knew where bin Laden was hiding."<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Steve Coll|last=Coll|first=Steve|title=Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan|publisher=]|year=2019|isbn=978-0-14-313250-9|page=549}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-95">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-osama-bin-laden-cia-20110502,0,6466214.story|title=CIA led U.S. special forces mission against Osama bin Laden|last=Dilanian|first=Ken|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 2, 2011}}</ref>


After the raid, there was an unconfirmed report that Pakistan allowed Chinese military officials to examine the wreckage of the crashed helicopter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rttnews.com/Content/Policy.aspx?Id=1694420 |title=Panetta: U.S. Concerned Over Pakistan's Relationships |publisher=Rttnews.com |date=August 17, 2011 |access-date=August 23, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="Walsh">{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.pakistan.role/|title=Official: Pakistan had but didn't probe data that helped make raid| last =Walsh|first=Nick Paton| coauthors=Peter Bergen|date=May 2, 2011|publisher=CNN|accessdate=May 2, 2011| location=Islamabad, Pakistan}}</ref>


=== Connections with Abbottabad ===
<!--<ref name="ref-103">{{cite news|author=Canada|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/white-house-bin-laden-tried-to-hide-behind-women-during-battle/article2007004/|title=White House: Bin Laden tried to hide behind women during battle|work=The Globe and Mail|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011|location=Toronto}}</ref>-->
], Pakistan (2011)]]
Abbottabad attracted refugees from fighting in the ] and ], as well as ]. "People don't really care now to ask who's there," said ], a former foreign minister and resident of the city. "That's one of the reasons why, possibly, he came in there."<ref name="failuretodiscover" />


The city was home to at least one al-Qaeda leader before bin Laden. Operational chief Abu Faraj al-Libi reportedly moved his family to Abbottabad in mid-2003.<ref name="Abbottabad2003" /> Pakistan ] (ISI) raided the house in December 2003 but did not find him.<ref name="AbbottabadScrutiny" /> This account was contradicted by American officials who said that satellite photos show that in 2004 the site was an empty field.<ref name="Reuters20110505">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-binladen-pakistan-isi-idUSTRE74408220110505|title=Special report: Why the U.S. mistrusts Pakistan's spies|last1=Allbritton|first1=Chris|last2=Hosenball|first2=Mark|date=May 5, 2011|work=Reuters |access-date=May 5, 2011}}</ref> A courier told interrogators that al-Libi used three houses in Abbottabad. Pakistani officials say they informed their American counterparts at the time that the city could be a hiding place for al-Qaeda leaders.<ref name="mistrust" /> In 2009 officials began providing the U.S. with intelligence about bin Laden's compound without knowing who lived there.<ref name="AbbottabadScrutiny" />
<ref name="ref-127">{{cite news|title=Reid thinks Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan earthquake|url=http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4159840&nav=8faO|date=November 25, 2005|publisher=KRNV|accessdate=May 3, 2011|archiveurl=http://replay.web.archive.org/20081015210858/http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4159840&nav=8faO|archivedate=October 15, 2008}}</ref>


On January 25, 2011,<ref name="Frenchmen" /> ISI arrested ], an Indonesian wanted in connection with the ], while he was staying with a family in Abbottabad. Tahir Shehzad, a clerk at the post office, was arrested on suspicion of facilitating travel for al-Qaeda militants.<ref name="Abbottabad2003" />
<ref name="ref-118">{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/05/20115223517616602.html|title=Obama says world safer without Bin Laden, AlJazeera English, 3&nbsp;May 2011|publisher=English.aljazeera.net|date=May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


=== Allegations against Pakistan ===
<ref name="post">"", '']'', October 3, 2001.</ref>
Numerous allegations were made that the government of Pakistan had shielded bin Laden.<ref name="LAT20110502" /><ref name="wsj20110503" /><ref name="ref-62" /> Critics cited the proximity of bin Laden's heavily fortified compound to the Pakistan Military Academy, that the U.S. chose to not notify Pakistani authorities before the operation, and the double standards of Pakistan regarding the perpetrators of the ].<ref name="ref-62" /><ref name="ref-61" /><ref name="ref-63" /> ] disclosed that American diplomats had been told that Pakistani security services were tipping off bin Laden every time U.S. forces approached. Pakistan's ] (ISI), also helped smuggle al-Qaeda militants into Afghanistan to fight ] troops. According to the leaked files, in December 2009, the ] had also told U.S. officials that many in Pakistan were aware of bin Laden's whereabouts.<ref name="DT20110502" />


CIA chief ] said the CIA had ruled out involving Pakistan in the operation, because it feared that "any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission. They might alert the targets."<ref name="time20110503" /> Secretary of State ] said that "cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound in which he was hiding."<ref name="ref-86" /> Obama echoed her sentiments.<ref name="Walsh" /> ], Obama's chief counterterrorism advisor, said that it was inconceivable that bin Laden did not have support from within Pakistan. He said: "People have been referring to this as hiding in plain sight. We are looking at how he was able to hide out there for so long."<ref name="Guard20110502" />
<ref name="Roberts">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/17/attack/main515468.shtml|title=FBI Official Thinks Bin Laden Is Dead|last=Roberts|first=Joel|date=July 17, 2002|publisher=CBS News|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


The ], ], said that bin Laden hiding "deep inside" Pakistan was a matter of grave concern for India, and showed that "many of the perpetrators of the ], including the controllers and the handlers of the terrorists who actually carried out the attack, continue to be sheltered in Pakistan." He called on Pakistan to arrest them.<ref>{{cite news|title=India Uses Osama Death to Pressure Pakistan|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704569404576298211101277924|date=May 2, 2011|work=The Wall Street Journal |first=Tom|last=Wright}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-98">Katie Couric, '']'', May 2, 2011.</ref>


Pakistani-born British member of parliament ] said he was "flabbergasted and shocked" after he learned that bin Laden was living in a city with thousands of Pakistani troops, reviving questions about alleged links between al-Qaeda and elements in Pakistan's security forces.<ref name="ind20110502" />
<ref name="abcnews1">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/president-obama-to-national-security-team-its-a-go-.html|title=President Obama to National Security Team: 'It's a Go'}}</ref>


On August 7, 2011, ], an American spy novelist and security analyst, posted "The Spy Who Billed Me" on her national security blog,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thespywhobilledme.com/the_spy_who_billed_me/2011/08/bin-laden-turned-in-by-informant-courier-was-cover-story.html |title=Bin Laden Turned in by Informant—Courier Was Cover Story |publisher=The Spy Who Billed Me |date=August 7, 2011 |access-date=December 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206202801/http://www.thespywhobilledme.com/the_spy_who_billed_me/2011/08/bin-laden-turned-in-by-informant-courier-was-cover-story.html |archive-date=December 6, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> suggesting that Pakistan's ISI had sheltered bin Laden in return for a $25&nbsp;million ]; ISI and government officials have denied her allegations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Crilly|first=Rob|title=Osama bin Laden 'protected by Pakistan in return for Saudi cash'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8693111/Osama-bin-Laden-protected-by-Pakistan-in-return-for-Saudi-cash.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8693111/Osama-bin-Laden-protected-by-Pakistan-in-return-for-Saudi-cash.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=August 11, 2011|work=The Daily Telegraph |date=August 10, 2011|location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
<ref name="dailymail1">{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382860/Osama-Bin-Laden-dead-How-Navy-Seals-killed-Al-Qaeda-chief-near-Islamabad.html|title=How a 40-minute raid ended ten years of defiance, as American troops' head cameras relayed every detail to the President|date=May 3, 2011 | location=London|work=Daily Mail|first1=Sam|last1=Greenhill|first2=David|last2=Williams|first3=Imtiaz|last3=Hussain}}</ref>


Former Pakistani Army Chief, General ] has said that, according to his knowledge, Osama bin Laden was kept in an Intelligence Bureau safe house in Abbottabad by the then Director-General of the ] (2004–2008), Brigadier ]. This had occurred with the "full knowledge" of former army chief General Pervez Musharraf and possibly that of current Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General ].<ref>Jamal, Arif (December 22, 2011), , Jamestown.org</ref> However the reporter who interviewed him, Riedel, noted that Butt had "a motive to speak harshly about Musharraf". Ziauddin Butt would later deny making these claims about Musharraf and Shah.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-02-16 |title=Ijaz Shah to sue Ziauddin Butt |url=https://nation.com.pk/16-Feb-2012/ijaz-shah-to-sue-ziauddin-butt |access-date=2024-04-14 |website=The Nation}}</ref> Emails from the private American security firm, ], published by WikiLeaks on February 27, 2012, indicate that up to 12 officials in Pakistan's ISI knew of Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad safe house. Stratfor had been given access to the papers collected by American forces from bin Laden's Abbottabad house. The emails reveal that these Pakistani officers included "Mid to senior level ISI and Pak Mil with one retired Pak Mil General."<ref>McElroy, Damien (February 27, 2012) , ''The Daily Telegraph''</ref> In 2014, British journalist ] revealed that she had been told by an undisclosed ISI source that the ISI "ran a special desk assigned to handle bin Laden." The desk was "led by an officer who made his own decisions and did not report to a superior but the top military bosses knew about it, I was told."<ref name=Gall2014 />
<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.raid/index.html|title=How U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden|date=May 3, 2011 |publisher=CNN}}</ref>


According to ], as of 2019 there is no direct evidence showing Pakistani knowledge of bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad, even by a rogue or compartmented faction within the government, other than the circumstantial fact of bin Laden's compound being located near (albeit not directly visible from) the Pakistan Military Academy. Documents captured from the Abbottabad compound generally show that bin Laden was wary of contact with Pakistani intelligence and police, especially in light of Pakistan's role in the arrest of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed; it has also been suggested that the $25 million U.S. reward for information leading to bin Laden would have been enticing to Pakistani officers given their reputation for corruption. The compound itself, although unusually tall, was less conspicuous than sometimes envisaged by Americans, given the common local habit of walling off homes for protection against violence or to ensure the privacy of female family members. Coll notes that a ] cell had previously surveilled the army's ] in ] out of a nearby house for two months prior to a ] attack on the facility—without detection.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Steve Coll|last=Coll|first=Steve|title=Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan|publisher=]|year=2019|isbn=978-0-14-313250-9|pages=547–554}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-80">{{cite web|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/compound-in-pakistan-was-once-a-safe-house-1.802539|title=Bin Laden compound in Pakistan was once an ISI safe house|work=Gulf News|date= May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


=== Pakistani response ===
<ref name="Codevilla">{{cite journal|last=Codevilla|first=Angelo M.|month=March|year=2009|title=Osama bin Elvis|journal=The American Spectator|url=http://spectator.org/archives/2009/03/13/osama-bin-elvis }}</ref>
{{external video|video1=}}
According to a Pakistani intelligence official, raw phone-tap data had been transferred to the U.S. without being analyzed by Pakistan. While the U.S. "was concentrating on this" information since September 2010, information regarding bin Laden and the compound's inhabitants had "slipped from" Pakistan's "radar" over the months. Bin Laden left "an invisible footprint" and he had not been contacting other militant networks. It was noted that much focus had been placed on a courier entering and leaving the compound. The transfer of intelligence to the U.S. was a regular occurrence according to the official, who also stated regarding the raid that "I think they came in undetected and went out the same day," and Pakistan did not believe that U.S. personnel were present in the area before the special operation occurred.<ref name="Walsh" />


According to the Pakistani high commissioner to the United Kingdom, ], Pakistan had prior knowledge that an operation would happen. Pakistan was "in the know of certain things" and "what happened, happened with our consent. Americans got to know him—where he was first—and that's why they struck it and struck it precisely." Husain Haqqani, Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., had said that Pakistan would have pursued bin Laden had the intelligence of his location existed with them and Pakistan was "very glad that our American partners did. They had superior intelligence, superior technology, and we are grateful to them."<ref name="Walsh" />
<ref name="cbs">"", ], September 16, 2001.</ref>


Another Pakistani official stated that Pakistan "assisted only in terms of authorization of the helicopter flights in our airspace" and the operation was conducted by the United States. He also said that "in any event, we did not want anything to do with such an operation in case something went wrong."<ref name="Walsh" />
<ref name="ref-81">{{cite news| url=http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/war_room/bin-laden-killed-after-firefight-in-pakistan-05022011| author=Doug Luzader| title=Bin Laden Killed after Firefight in Pakistan| publisher=Fox News| date=May 2, 2011}}</ref>


In June, the ] arrested the owner of a safe house rented to the CIA to observe Osama bin Laden's compound and five CIA informants.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2077798,00.html |title=Bin Laden: Pakistan Arrests CIA Informants AP |magazine=Time |date=June 14, 2011 |access-date=July 6, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110618210001/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0%2C8599%2C2077798%2C00.html |archive-date=June 18, 2011 }}</ref>
<!--<ref name="ref-102"> ''ABC News'' – Retrieved May 3, 2011.</ref>-->


], then the CIA ] for Pakistan, alleges that he was poisoned by the ISI in retaliation for the raid, forcing him to leave the country.<ref name="IBTimes">{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ex-cia-chief-mark-kelton-believes-pakistani-agents-poisoned-him-after-us-killed-osama-bin-laden-1558531 |title=Ex-CIA chief Mark Kelton believes Pakistani agents poisoned him after US killed Osama bin Laden |work=] |first=Mary |last=Papenfuss |date=May 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520222929/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ex-cia-chief-mark-kelton-believes-pakistani-agents-poisoned-him-after-us-killed-osama-bin-laden-1558531 |archive-date=May 20, 2017}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=Greg|title=After presiding over bin Laden raid, CIA chief in Pakistan came home suspecting he was poisoned by ISI|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-bin-laden-raids-shadow-bad-blood-and-the-suspected-poisoning-of-a-cia-officer/2016/05/05/ace85354-0c83-11e6-a6b6-2e6de3695b0e_story.html|newspaper=] |access-date=May 5, 2016}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-128">Riedel, Bruce. "The Search for al-Qaeda", 2008</ref>


== Code name ==
<ref name="ref-124">'']'', "", May 3, 2011.</ref>
{{See also|Code name Geronimo controversy}}
Several officials who were present in the ], including the president,<ref name="kroft" /> told reporters that the code name for bin Laden was "Geronimo". They had watched ], speaking from ], while he narrated the action in Abbottabad. Panetta said, "We have a visual on Geronimo," and later, "Geronimo EKIA"—enemy ].<ref name="behindthehunt" /> The words of the commander on the ground were, "For God and country, Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo."<ref name="guthrie" /> Officials subsequently explained that each step of the mission was labelled alphabetically in an "Execution Checklist," which is used to ensure all participants in a large operation are kept synchronized with a minimum of radio traffic. "Geronimo" indicated the raiders had reached step "G," the capture or killing of bin Laden.<ref name="oneshotdeal" /> Osama bin Laden was identified as "Jackpot," the general code name for the target of an operation.<ref name="guthrie" /> ABC News reported that otherwise his regular code name was "Cakebread."<ref name="targetchapter6" /> '']'' reported that bin Laden's code name was "Crankshaft."<ref name="Getting Bin Laden" />


Many Native Americans were offended that ], the renowned 19th-century ] leader, was irrevocably linked with bin Laden. The chairman of the ], the successor to ], wrote a letter to Obama asking him to "right this wrong."<ref name="apache" /> The president of the ] requested that the U.S. government change the code name retroactively.<ref name="Montoya" /> Officials from the ] said the focus should be on honoring the disproportionately high number of Native Americans who serve in the military, and they had been assured that "Geronimo" was not a code name for bin Laden.<ref name="nativeamericans" /> The ] heard testimony on the issue from tribal leaders, while the Defense Department had no comment except to say that no disrespect was intended.<ref name="Montoya" />
<ref name="ref-91">Gordon Rayner and Toby Harnden, "" (May 2, 2011), ''The Telegraph''.</ref>


== Derivation of intelligence ==
<ref name="ref-117">{{cite web|author=Agile Telecom Ltd. and Xidemia|url=http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,139904.html|title=Local Muslims question sea-burial, By AZARD ALI, Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Tuesday, May&nbsp;3, 2011|publisher=Newsday.co.tt|date=May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>
After the death of bin Laden, some officials from the Bush administration, such as former Bush ] attorney ]<ref>{{cite news|last=Yoo |first=John |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703834804576301032595527372 |title=John Yoo: From Guantanamo to Abbottabad |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/the-unrepentant-john-yoo-enhanced-interrogation-got-us-bin-laden/238356 |title=The Unrepentant John Yoo: 'Enhanced Interrogation' Got Us bin Laden |author=Andrew Cohen |work=The Atlantic |date=May 5, 2011 |access-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref> and former ] ],<ref>{{cite news|last=Mukasey |first=Michael B. |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703859304576305023876506348 |title=Michael B. Mukasey: The Waterboarding Trail to bin Laden |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 6, 2011 |access-date=May 13, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Thiessen |first=Marc A. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/mukasey-responds-to-mccains-op-ed/2011/05/12/AFhhVO1G_blog.html |title=Mukasey responds to McCain's op-ed—PostPartisan |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 12, 2011 |access-date=May 13, 2011}}</ref> wrote op-eds stating that the ] they authorized (since legally clarified as torture) yielded the intelligence that later led to locating bin Laden's hideout.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2011-05-09-If-torture-led-to-bin-Laden-do-ends-justify-the-means_n.htm |title=Our view: If torture led to bin Laden, do ends justify the means? |work=USA Today |date=May 9, 2011|access-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42863247 |title=Bin Laden death rekindles interrogation debate |publisher=NBC News |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref> Mukasey said that the waterboarding of ] caused him to reveal the nickname of bin Laden's courier.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mukasey |first=Michael |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703859304576305023876506348 |title= The Waterboarding Trail to bin Laden |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 6, 2011 |access-date=May 15, 2011}}</ref>


U.S. officials<ref>Alexander, Matthew, , ''Foreign Policy,'' May 8, 2011.</ref> and legislators, including Republican ]<ref name="stoplying" /> and Democrat ], chairwoman of the ], countered that those statements were false. They noted that a report by CIA Director ] stated that the first mention of the courier's nickname did not come from Mohammed, but rather from another government's interrogation of a suspect who they said they "believe was not tortured".<ref name="WashPostMcCain" />
<ref name="ref-85">{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-national-counterterrorism-center_n_856642.html|title=National Counterterrorism Center: How A Little-Known Spy Agency Helped Track Down Osama Bin Laden}}</ref>


McCain called on Mukasey to retract his statements:<ref name="WashPostMcCain" />
<ref name="ref-107">{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Bin-Laden-s-demise-Long-pursuit-burst-of-gunfire-1362725.php#page-2|title=Bin Laden's demise: Long pursuit, burst of gunfire |agency=Associated Press|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


{{Blockquote|I have sought further information from the staff of the ], and they confirm for me that, in fact, the best intelligence gained from a CIA detainee—information describing Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti's real role in Al-Qaeda and his true relationship to Osama bin Laden—was obtained through standard, non-coercive means, not through any 'enhanced interrogation technique.'<ref name="stoplying" />|John McCain}}
<ref name="ref-114">{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-05-02-osama-bin-laden-dna_n.htm|title= AP source: DNA IDs bin Laden, wife named him in raid|work=USA Today |date=May 2, 2011}}</ref>


Panetta had written a letter to McCain on the issue, saying: "Some of the detainees who provided useful information about the facilitator/courier's role had been subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques. Whether those techniques were the 'only timely and effective way' to obtain such information is a matter of debate and cannot be established definitively."<ref name="WashPostMcCain" /><ref name="informantstreatment" /> Although some information may have been obtained from detainees who were subjected to torture, Panetta wrote to McCain that:
<ref name="APGoldman">Adam Goldman and Chris Brummitt, "" (May 3, 2011). Associated Press.</ref>


<blockquote>We first learned about the facilitator/courier's nom de guerre from a detainee not in CIA custody in 2002. It is also important to note that some detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques attempted to provide false or misleading information about the facilitator/courier. These attempts to falsify the facilitator/courier's role were alerting. In the end, no detainee in CIA custody revealed the facilitator/courier's full true name or specific whereabouts. This information was discovered through other intelligence means.<ref name="cialetterwapo" /></blockquote>
<ref name="ref-92">{{citation|work=Chicago Sun-Times|url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2011/05/bin_laden_raid_us_had_plan_to.html|date=May 2, 2011|title=Bin Laden raid: US had plan to capture Osama}}</ref>


In addition, other U.S. officials state that shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, detainees in ] told interrogators about the courier's pseudonym "al-Kuwaiti" and that when Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was later captured, he only confirmed the courier's pseudonym. After ] was captured, he provided false or misleading information: he denied that he knew al-Kuwaiti and he made up another name instead.<ref name="phonecall" /> Also, a group of interrogators asserted that the courier's nickname was not divulged "during torture, but rather several months later, when were questioned by interrogators who did not use abusive techniques."<ref>Mulrine, Anna, , ''Christian Science Monitor,'' May 5, 2011</ref>
<!--<ref name="ref-116">{{cite web|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_664164.html|title=Islamist militant leads prayers for bin Laden in Pakistan, Strait Times, May&nbsp;3, 2011|work=Straits Times |location=Singapore |accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>-->


== Intelligence postmortem ==
<ref name="ref-125">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/05/02/osama_and_chants_of_usa|title="USA! USA!" is the wrong response|author=David Sirota|work=Salon}}</ref>
Evidence seized from the compound is said to include ten ], five to ten computers, twelve hard drives, at least 100 computer disks (including ] and DVDs), handwritten notes, documents, weapons, and an assortment of personal items.<ref name="cbsphonenos" /><ref name="WP 20120503">{{cite news|title=New bin Laden documents released|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/new-bin-laden-documents-released/2012/05/03/gIQAYOcnyT_story.html |date=May 3, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 3, 2012|first1=Greg |last1=Miller |first2=Peter |last2=Finn}}</ref> It was described by a senior Pentagon intelligence official as "the single largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever."<ref name="firstlook">{{cite news|last1=Devereaux|first1=Ryan|title=The al Qaeda Files: Bin Laden Documents Reveal a Struggling Organization|url=https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/13/al-qaeda-files-bin-laden-documents-reveal-struggling-organization|access-date=March 22, 2015|agency=The Intercept|publisher=First Look Media|date=March 13, 2015|archive-date=April 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427173544/https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/13/al-qaeda-files-bin-laden-documents-reveal-struggling-organization/|url-status=dead}}</ref> On November 1, 2017, the CIA released to the public approximately 470,000 files and a copy of bin Laden's diary.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/11/01/osama-bin-ladens-video-collection-included-where-in-the-world-is-osama-bin-laden/|title=Osama bin Laden's video collection included 'Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?'|first1=Cleve |last1=R. Wootson Jr.|date=November 1, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/2017-press-releases-statements/cia-releases-additional-files-recovered-in-ubl-compound-raid.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101184000/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/2017-press-releases-statements/cia-releases-additional-files-recovered-in-ubl-compound-raid.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 1, 2017|title=CIA Releases Nearly 470,000 Additional Files Recovered in May 2011 Raid on Usama Bin Ladin's Compound|date=November 1, 2017|location=Langley, Virginia|publisher=U.S. Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref>


Intelligence analysts also studied ]s from two phone numbers that were found to be sewn into bin Laden's clothing.<ref name="cbsphonenos" /> They helped over the course of several months to apprehend several al-Qaeda members in several countries and to kill several of bin Laden's closest associates by ] ].<ref name="WP 20120503" />
<ref name="Baer">{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1859354,00.html|title=When Will Obama Give Up the Bin Laden Ghost Hunt? – TIME|last=Baer|first=Robert|date=November 18, 2008|work=TIME|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


The material gathered at the compound was stored at the ] in ], where ] experts analyzed ]s, ], and other ] left on the material.<ref name="cbsphonenos" /> Copies of the material were provided to other agencies; officials want to preserve a ] in case any of the information is needed as evidence in a future trial.
<!--<ref name="ref-101">Landay, Jonathan S., "", '']'', May 3, 2011.</ref>-->


A special CIA team has been given the responsibility of combing through the digital material and documents removed from the bin Laden compound.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-evidence-trove-us-al-qaedas/story?id=13517804|title=Osama Bin Laden Evidence Trove: U.S. Hopes to Follow al Qaeda's Money Trail|first=Matthew|last=Mosk|publisher=ABC News|access-date=May 3, 2011}}</ref> The CIA team is working in collaboration with other U.S. government agencies "to triage, catalog and analyze this intelligence."{{cn|date=February 2023}}
<ref name="ref-123">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2011/05/01/sot.obama.bin.laden.dead.cnn?hpt=C2|title=Obama's statement on the death of bin Laden|publisher=CNN|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


Bin Laden's youngest wife told Pakistani investigators that the family lived in the ] village of ], in the nearby district of ], Pakistan, for two and a half years before moving to Abbottabad in late 2005.<ref name="haripur" />
<!--<ref name="ref-115">{{cite web|url=http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/03/6576896-prayers-offered-for-bin-laden-in-karachi-pakistan|title=Prayers offered for bin Laden in Karachi, Pakistan, MSNBC, May&nbsp;3, 2011|publisher=MSNBC|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>-->


The material seized from the compound contained al-Qaeda's strategy for Afghanistan after America's withdrawal from the country in 2014,<ref name="WP20120428" /> as well as thousands of electronic memos and missives that captured conversations between bin Laden and his deputies around the world.<ref name="WP20120501" /> It showed that bin Laden stayed in touch with al-Qaeda's established affiliates and sought new alliances with groups such as ] from Nigeria.<ref name="WP20120428">{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Greg|title=Al-Qaeda is weaker without bin Laden, but its franchise persists|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/manhunt-details-us-mission-to-find-osama-bin-laden/2012/04/27/gIQAz5pLoT_story.html|access-date=May 1, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 28, 2012}}</ref> According to the material, he sought to reassert control over factions of loosely affiliated jihadists from Yemen to Somalia, as well as independent actors whom he believed had sullied al-Qaeda's reputation and muddied its central message.<ref name="WP20120501">{{cite news|title=Bin Laden's last stand: In final months, terrorist leader worried about his legacy|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/bin-ladens-last-stand-in-final-months-terrorist-leader-worried-about-his-legacy/2012/04/30/gIQAStCjsT_story.html|access-date=May 1, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 1, 2012|first=Joby |last=Warrick}}</ref> Bin Laden was worried at times about his personal security and was annoyed that his organization had not utilized the ] to improve its image.<ref name="WP20120501" /> He acted, according to ''The Washington Post'', on the one hand as "chief executive fully engaged in the group's myriad crises, grappling with financial problems, recruitment, rebellious field managers, and sudden staff vacancies resulting from the unrelenting U.S. drone campaign,"<ref name="WP20120501" /> and on the other hand as "a hands-on manager who participated in the terrorist group's operational planning and strategic thinking while also giving orders and advice to field operatives scattered worldwide."<ref name="WP20120501" /> The material also described Osama bin Laden's relation with ] and ].<ref name="WP20120501" />
<ref name="ref-126">{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/10/06/karzai.binladen/|title=Karzai: bin Laden 'probably' dead|date=October 7, 2002|publisher=CNN|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


Seventeen documents seized during the Abbottabad raid, consisting of electronic letters or draft letters dating from September 2006 to April 2011, were released by the ] at West Point one year and one day after bin Laden's death.<ref name="WP 20120503" /> and made available at ''The Washington Post'' homepage.<ref>{{cite news|title=Osama bin Laden documents captured during raid|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/documents/osama-bin-laden-compound-documents.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 3, 2012|date=May 3, 2012}}</ref> The documents covered subjects such as the ], affiliate organization, targets, America, security, and the ].<ref>{{cite news|last=Corera|first=Gordon|title=Analysis: Bin Laden papers details|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17943175|work=BBC News Online|access-date=May 3, 2012|date=May 3, 2012}}</ref> In the documents, bin Laden said al-Qaeda's strength was limited and therefore suggested that the best way to attack the U.S., which he compared to a tree, "is to concentrate on sawing the trunk."<ref name="WP 20120503" /> He refused the promotion of ] when this was requested by ], leader of ]. "We here become reassured of the people when they go to the line and get examined there,"<ref name="WP 20120503" /> bin Laden said. He told al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to expand operations in the U.S. in the wake of the ] by writing "We need to extend and develop our operations in America and not keep it limited to blowing up airplanes."<ref name="WP 20120503" />
<ref name="White">{{cite news|url=http://usliberals.about.com/b/2005/11/25/senator-harry-reid-told-osama-bin-laden-killed-in-pakistan-earthquake.htm|title=Deborah White Senator Harry Reid Told Osama Bin Laden Killed in Pakistan Earthquake|last=White|first=Deborah|date=November 25, 2005|publisher=About.com|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


The seized material shed light on al-Qaeda's relationship with ], which detained jihadis and their relatives in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, including members of bin Laden's family. Al-Qaeda's relationship with Iran was, according to the Combating Terrorism Center, an "unpleasant byproduct of necessity, fueled by mutual distrust and antagonism."<ref name="WP 20120503" /> An explicit reference to any institutional support from Pakistan for al-Qaeda wasn't mentioned in the documents; instead, bin Laden instructed his family members how to avoid detection so that members of Pakistani intelligence couldn't track them to find him.<ref name="BBC20120503">{{cite news|title=Osama Bin Laden documents released|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17941778|work=BBC News Online|access-date=May 3, 2012|date=May 3, 2012}}</ref> According to the seized material, former commander of the international forces in Afghanistan ] and US President Barack Obama should be assassinated during any of their visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan, if there was an opportunity to do so. Bin Laden opined that U.S. Vice President ] should not be a target because "Biden is totally unprepared for that post , which will lead the US into a crisis."<ref name="BBC20120503" /> Bin Laden was also against one-person suicide attacks and was of the opinion that at least two persons should undertake these attacks instead.<ref name="BBC20120503" /> He planned to reform in a way so that al-Qaeda's central leadership would have a greater say in the naming of the al-Qaeda branch leaders and their deputies. He expressed his opinion that killing Muslims has weakened his organization and not helped al-Qaeda, writing that it "cost the mujahedeen no small amount of sympathy among Muslims. The enemy has exploited the mistakes of the mujahedeen to mar their image among the masses."<ref>{{cite news|last=Keath|first=Lee|title=Al Qaeda Leader Worried About Image|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/04/osama-bin-laden-documents_n_1476878.html|agency=Associated Press|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=May 5, 2012|date=May 5, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="BBC_Intel_Failure">{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13268517|publisher=BBC News |date=May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011|title=Pakistan admits Bin Laden intelligence failure}}</ref>


The ] released a further eleven documents in March 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=McCants|first1=Will|title=New Abbottabad Documents|url=http://www.jihadica.com/new-abbottabad-documents/|website=Jihadica|access-date=March 17, 2015}}</ref> The documents were part of the trial against Abid Naseer, who was convicted of plotting to bomb a ] shopping mall in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Clifford|first1=Stephanie|title=U.S. Jury Convicts Man Charged in a Britain Bomb Plot|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/nyregion/abid-naseer-terror-suspect-found-guilty-on-all-counts-in-2009-bomb-plot.html|access-date=March 17, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=March 4, 2015}}</ref> They included letters to and from Osama bin Laden in the year before his death, and showed the extent of the damage the CIA drone program had done to Al-Qaeda.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bergen|first1=Peter|title=A gripping glimpse into bin Laden's decline and fall|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/10/opinions/bergen-bin-laden-al-qaeda-decline-fall/index.html|access-date=March 17, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=March 12, 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-93">{{citation|publisher=NPR|place=USA|date=May 2, 2011|url=http://www.npr.org/2011/05/02/135913008/osama-bin-laden-killed-while-hiding-in-pakistan|title=Osama bin Laden killed while hiding in Pakistan}}</ref>


In addition to information and data recovered that were of intelligence interest, the documents and computer items also contained personal files, including family correspondence and a large stash of pornography. US officials have refused to characterize the type of pornography found other than to say that it was "modern" in nature.<ref>Wellman, Alex, "", '']'', May 21, 2015</ref><ref>Holley, Peter, "", '']'', June 10, 2015</ref><ref>Ackerman, Spencer, "", '']'', May 20, 2015</ref> The most likely explanation for the pornography on bin Laden's hard drive is that he bought a poorly refurbished computer since bin Laden did not have internet access and the computer was also infected with viruses.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lahoud |first=Nelly |date=2022 |title=The Bin Laden Papers: How the Abbottabad Raid Revealed the Truth about al-Qaeda, Its Leader and His Family |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eoppEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-26063-2 |pages=11–12}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-106">{{cite news|last=Mazzetti|first=Mark|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/03intel.html|title=Behind the Hunt for Bin Laden|work=The New York Times |date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


== Helicopter stealth technology revelations ==
<ref name="ref-61">{{cite web|url=http://www.inewsone.com/2011/05/02/obama-kept-pakistan-in-dark-about-osama-attack/47604| title=Obama kept Pakistan in dark about Osama attack|publisher=News One}}</ref>
The ] of the secret helicopter survived demolition and lay just outside the compound wall.<ref name="helostealth" /> Pakistani security forces put up a cloth barrier at first light to hide the wreckage.<ref name="myneighbor" /> Later, a tractor hauled it away hidden under a tarp.<ref name="littlenotice" /> Journalists obtained photographs that revealed the previously undisclosed ]. ''Aviation Week'' said the helicopter appeared to be a significantly modified ]. Serial numbers found at the scene were consistent with an MH-60 built in 2009.<ref name="notnew" /> Its performance during the operation confirmed that a ] could evade detection in a militarily sensitive, densely populated area. Photos showed that the Black Hawk's tail had stealth-configured shapes on the boom and the ], swept ] and a "hubcap" over the noise-reducing five- or six-blade tail rotor. It appeared to have a silver-loaded ] finish similar to some ]s.<ref name="helostealth" /> The crash of the Black Hawk may have been, at least in part, caused by the aerodynamic deficiencies introduced to the airframe by the stealth technology add-ons<ref>Rogoway, Tyler, "", ''The Drive'', January 10, 2019</ref> (an unrelated possible cause of the crash was that the rehearsal mock-ups of the compound had used a chain-link fence rather than a solid wall for the perimeter and thus had not reproduced the airflows that the helicopter would face).<ref name="theory-special" />


The U.S. requested return of the wreckage and the Chinese government also expressed interest, according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan had custody of the wreckage for over two weeks before its return was secured by ] ].<ref name="kerry" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Obama nominates John Kerry as secretary of state|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-to-nominate-john-kerry-for-secretary-of-state-today/2012/12/21/d21003ee-4b83-11e2-a6a6-aabac85e8036_story.html|access-date=December 22, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 21, 2012|first1=Anne |last1=Gearan |first2=Scott |last2=Wilson}}</ref> Experts disagreed as to how much information could have been gleaned from the tail fragment. Stealth technology was already operational on several ] and the cancelled ] helicopter; the modified Black Hawk was the first confirmed operational "stealth helicopter." It is likely that the most valuable information obtainable from the wreckage was the composition of the ] used on the tail section.<ref name="helostealth" /><ref name="armsrace" /> Local children were seen picking up pieces of the wreckage and selling them as souvenirs.<ref name="goodneighbours" /> In August 2011, Fox News reported that Pakistan had allowed Chinese scientists to examine the helicopter's tail section and were especially interested in its radar-absorbing paint.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/08/15/report-pakistan-granted-china-access-to-uss-top-secret-bin-laden-raid-chopper|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816053330/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/08/15/report-pakistan-granted-china-access-to-uss-top-secret-bin-laden-raid-chopper/|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 16, 2011|title=Report: Pakistan Granted China Access to U.S.'s Top-Secret Bin Laden Raid Chopper|publisher=Fox News | date=August 15, 2011}}</ref> Pakistan and the PRC denied these claims.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/232466/army-denies-providing-china-access-to-bin-laden-raid-chopper/ |title=US helicopter wreckage: Pakistan denies giving China access |work=] |date=August 14, 2011 |access-date=August 23, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="TNYT20110501">{{cite news|title=Obama Announces Killing of Osama bin Laden|first=Helene|last=Cooper|url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/bin-laden-dead-u-s-official-says/|newspaper=]|date=May 1, 2011| accessdate=May 2, 2011| archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/5yNEZ0PLs| archivedate=May 2, 2011}}</ref>


== Previous attempts to capture or kill bin Laden ==
<ref name="blogs.abcnews.com">{{cite news|last=Tapper|first=Jake|publisher=ABC News|url= http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/some-white-knuckle-moments-for-elite-navy-seals-team.html|title=Some White Knuckle Moments for Elite Navy SEALs Team|date=May 2, 2011 }}</ref>
{{See also|Battle of Tora Bora|Location of Osama bin Laden}}
] in 2001]]
* February 1994: A team of ]ns attacked bin Laden's home in ]. The CIA investigated and reported that they had been hired by ], but Saudi Arabia accused them of lying to make bin Laden more amenable to Sudanese interests.<ref name="ref-128" /><ref name="loomingtower" />
* August 20, 1998: In ], the U.S. Navy launched 66 cruise missiles at a suspected al-Qaeda training camp outside ], Afghanistan, where bin Laden was expected to be. Reports said that 30 people may have been killed.<ref name="post" />
* 2000: Foreign operatives working on behalf of the CIA fired a ] at a convoy of vehicles in which bin Laden was traveling through the mountains of Afghanistan, hitting one of the vehicles but not the one in which bin Laden was riding.<ref name="cbs" />
* December 2001: During the opening stages of the war in Afghanistan launched following the September 11 attacks, the U.S. and its allies believed that bin Laden was hiding in the rugged mountains at ]. Despite overrunning the Taliban and al-Qaeda positions, they failed to capture or kill him.<ref name="NY Times Magazine" />


==See also==
<ref name="ref-73">{{Cite news|publisher=CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/23/france.binladen/index.html|title=Conflicting reports: Bin Laden could be dead or ill|date=September 23, 2006}}</ref>
{{Portal|Pakistan|United States}}
* ]
* ], similar raid that targeted ] leader ] in 2019.
* ], 2022 U.S. drone strike on bin Laden's successor
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ], a doctor who was alleged to have assisted the U.S. in locating bin Laden.


== Notes ==
<ref name="Ross">{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-killed-navy-seals-firefight/story?id=13505792|title =Osama Bin Laden Killed By Navy SEALs in Firefight|last=Ross|first=Brian|coauthors=Jake Tapper, Richard Esposito, Nick Schifrin|date=May 2, 2011|publisher=]|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref>
{{notelist}}


== References ==
<ref name="ref-51">{{cite news|last=Goldman|first=Adam|coauthors=Brummitt, Chris|title= Bin Laden's demise: US rejoices after a decade| date=2011-05—02|publisher=]|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/01/national/w195249D11.DTL&ao=all|agency=Associated Press|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref>
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="deadlyraid">{{cite news |title=Osama bin Laden killed: Behind the scenes of the deadly raid |first=Philip |last=Sherwell |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8500431/Osama-bin-Laden-killed-Behind-the-scenes-of-the-deadly-raid.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8500431/Osama-bin-Laden-killed-Behind-the-scenes-of-the-deadly-raid.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=May 7, 2011 |access-date=May 9, 2011 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>


<!--<ref name="washingtonpost">{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/osama-bin-laden-is-killed-by-us-forces-in-pakistan/2011/05/01/AFXMZyVF_story.html|title=Osama bin Laden is killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan|work=The Washington Post | date=May 2, 2011}}</ref>--> <ref name="CIAled">{{cite news|last=Dilanian |first=Ken |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-osama-bin-laden-cia-20110502,0,6466214.story |title=CIA led U.S. special forces mission against Osama bin Laden |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 14, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="aftermath">{{cite web |url=http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/05/04/the_bin_laden_aftermath_the_us_shouldnt_hold_pakistans_military_against_pakistans_c |title=The bin Laden aftermath: The U.S. shouldn't hold Pakistan's military against Pakistan's civilians |first=C. Christine |last=Fair |date=May 4, 2011 |work=] |access-date=May 10, 2011 |archive-date=June 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612174749/http://afpak.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/05/04/the_bin_laden_aftermath_the_us_shouldnt_hold_pakistans_military_against_pakistans_c |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="ref-66">{{Cite news|authorlink=Mark Mazzetti|title=C.I.A. Closes Unit Focused on Capture of bin Laden|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/washington/04intel.html |quote=The ] has closed a unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials confirmed Monday. The unit, known as Alec Station, was disbanded late last year and its analysts reassigned within the CIA Counterterrorist Center, the officials said.|work=The New York Times |date=July 4, 2006|accessdate=May 20, 2010}}</ref>


<ref name="revenge">{{cite news |first1=Paisley |last1=Dodds |first2=Lolita C. |last2=Baldor |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/al-qaida-vows-revenge-for-osama-bin-ladens-death/ |title=Al-Qaida vows revenge for Osama bin Laden's death |agency=] |publisher=] |date=May 6, 2011 |access-date =April 25, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140428192856/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/06/al-qaida-confirms-osama-bin-ladens-death/ |archive-date=28 April 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="indianexpress1">{{cite web|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/did-pakistan-army-shelter-osama/784511|title= Did Pakistan Army shelter Osama?|publisher=IndianExpress|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-63">{{cite web|url=http://www.mid-day.com/news/2011/may/020511-Did-Pakistan-know-Osama-hideout.htm|title=Did Pakistan know of U.S. raid to kill Osama?|publisher=Mid Day|date=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="torture">{{cite news |title=Bin Laden Raid Revives Debate on Value of Torture |first1=Scott |last1=Shane |last2=Savage |first2=Charlie |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/us/politics/04torture.html |work=The New York Times |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=May 4, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="realname">{{cite web |title=Osama Bin Laden: Navy SEALS Operation Details of Raid That Killed 9/11 Al Qaeda Leader |first1=Brian |last1=Ross |first2=Matthew |last2=Cole |first3=Avni |last3=Patel |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/khalid-sheikh-muhammad-capture-osama-bin-laden-courier/story?id=13506413 |publisher=ABC News |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 7, 2011}}</ref>
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<ref name="dawn20110502y">{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/02/pressure-on-pakistan-after-bin-laden-death-lawmaker.html|title=Pressure on Pakistan after bin Laden death-lawmaker|date=May 2, 2011|work=Dawn|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="pashtuns">{{cite news |title=Two quiet men lived in house of wonder |first1=Emmanuel |last1=Duparcq |first2=Sajjad |last2=Tarakzai |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/two-quiet-men-lived-in-house-of-wonder/story-fn8ljzlv-1226049481980 |agency=] |work=] |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=May 7, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-96">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/world/asia/osama-bin-laden-dead.html |title=Obama Calls World 'Safer' After Pakistan Raid |work=The New York Times |first1=Steven Lee |last1=Myers |first2=Elisabeth |last2=Bumiller |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 3, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-23">{{cite web| url=http://www.newsmax.com/KenTimmerman/osamabinladen-seals-specialforces-pakistan/2011/05/02/id/394830|title=SEALs Sent to Kill bin Laden}}</ref>


<ref name="WaziristanHaveli">{{cite news |title=Osama mansion was called Waziristan Haveli
<ref name="ref-7">{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13257330|title=Pakistan defends Bin Laden role|publisher=BBC News |date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref>
|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/osama-mansion-was-called-waziristan-haveli-103135|agency=] |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=July 25, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="fedtimes">{{cite news|url=http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110509/AGENCY02/105090301/1055/AGENCY|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209142442/http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110509/AGENCY02/105090301/1055/AGENCY|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 9, 2012|title=Intelligence fusion got bin Laden|first=Stephen|last=Losey|publisher=Federal Times|access-date=May 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-31">'']''/'']'', "", May 2, 2011.</ref>


<ref name="ref-11">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/266147/more-operational-details-daniel-foster|title= More Operational Details|first=Daniel|last=Foster|work=The Corner|publisher=National Review Online|date=May 2, 2011| accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="waposurveil">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/cia-spied-on-bin-laden-from-safe-house/2011/05/05/AFXbG31F_story.html|title=CIA spied on bin Laden from safe house|newspaper=]|date=May 5, 2011|first=Greg |last=Miller|access-date=May 6, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="sfgredteam">{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/03/MN2H1JB94F.DTL |title=Bin Laden data not had by torture, Feinstein says|work=]|date=May 4, 2011|first=Carolyn |last=Lochhead}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-36">{{cite web|last=Athar|first=Sohaib|title=Helicopter hovering above Abbottābad at 1&nbsp;am (is a rare event)|url=http://twitter.com/#!/ReallyVirtual/status/64780730286358528|publisher=Twitter|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="timered">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2068998,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507032803/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2068998,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 7, 2011 |title=The CIA Gets a Rare Public Victory|magazine=Time|date=May 2, 2011|first=Massimo |last=Calabresi}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-78">{{Cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/5232505/Pakistans-President-says-Osama-bin-Laden-could-be-dead.html|title=Pakistan's President says Osama bin Laden could be dead|work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK |author=Dean Nelson and Emal Khan|date=April 27, 2009|accessdate=May 20, 2010}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-30">{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/02/us-binladen-usa-women-idUSTRE74166F20110502|author=Jeff Mason, Alister Bull|title=Bin Laden hid behind women in firefight: White House|agency=Reuters |accessdate=May 2, 2011|date=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="aprisks">{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/04/bin-laden-mission-risk-obama_n_857320.html|title=Osama Bin Laden Death: Obama Ran Serious Risks With Mission To Kill Terrorist Leader|agency=Associated Press|first=Lolita C. |last=Baldor|access-date=May 13, 2011|work=The Huffington Post|date=May 4, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-57">{{cite web|title=Bin Laden Announcement Twitter Traffic Spikes Higher Than The Super Bowl|url=http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/02/bin-laden-announcement-twitter-traffic-spikes-higher-than-the-super-bowl|work=]|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="stormedroom">{{cite news |work=] |agency=] |url=http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/51742983-68/bin-laden-seals-compound.html.csp?page=1 |date=May 11, 2011 |title=Bin Laden was unarmed when SEALs stormed room |first1=Matt |last1=Apuzzo |first2=Adam |last2=Goldman |access-date=May 22, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="pbsinterview">{{cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/jan-june11/panetta_05-03.html |title=CIA Chief Panetta: Obama Made 'Gutsy' Decision on Bin Laden Raid |date=May 3, 2011 |publisher=PBS |work=NewsHour |first=Jim |last=Lehrer |access-date=August 26, 2017 |archive-date=January 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121203343/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/jan-june11/panetta_05-03.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="ref-49">{{cite news|url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/how-the-osama-announcement-leaked-out/|title=How the bin Laden Announcement Leaked Out|first=Brian|last=Stelter|authorlink=Brian Stelter|work=The New York Times |date=May 1, 2011|accessdate=May 1, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="commandos">{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Hosenball |work=] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-binladen-kill-idUSTRE74151S20110502 |title=U.S. commandos knew bin Laden likely would die |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505111350/https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/02/us-binladen-kill-idUSTRE74151S20110502 |archive-date=May 5, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-14">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488004/Osama-Bin-Ladens-body-identified-by-sisters-brain.html|title=Osama Bin Laden's body 'identified by sister's brain'|work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK |date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-43">{{Cite news|url=http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/984041--bin-laden-remains-given-burial-at-sea?bn=1|title=Bin Laden remains given burial at sea|newspaper=]|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="Getting Bin Laden">{{cite magazine|last=Schmidle |first=Nicholas |url=https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/08/110808fa_fact_schmidle |title=Planning & Executing the Mission to Get Bin Laden |magazine=] |date=August 8, 2011 |access-date=May 12, 2014}}</ref>


<ref name="spymilitary">{{cite news|first1=Siobhan |last1=Gorman |first2=Julian E. |last2=Barnes |title=Spy, Military Ties Aided bin Laden Raid |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704083904576334160172068344 |work=] |date=May 23, 2011 |access-date=June 18, 2011}}</ref>
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<ref name="ref-44">{{cite web|author=Jim Garamone|title= Bin Laden Buried at Sea|url= http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=60124|publisher=]|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="fortbragg">{{cite web |title=Sources: Bragg helped plan bin Laden raid |url=https://abc11.com/archive/8109778/ |publisher=] |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=June 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010032055/http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=8109778 |archive-date=October 10, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>


<ref name="secretteam">{{cite news |first=Marc |last=Ambinder |title=The secret team that killed bin Laden |url=http://nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/the-secret-team-that-killed-bin-laden-20110502 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120524000448/http://nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/the-secret-team-that-killed-bin-laden-20110502 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 24, 2012 |date=May 3, 2011|work=] |access-date=May 22, 2011}}</ref>
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<ref name="ref-70">{{Cite news|last =|title=Chirac says no evidence bin Laden has died|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14963302/|publisher=MSNBC|agency=]|date=September 24, 2006|accessdate=May 20, 2010}}</ref> <ref name="soldierspy">{{cite news |first1=Kimberly |last1=Dozier |first2=Robert |last2=Burns |title=Raid raises question: Who's soldier, who's spy? |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/raid-raises-question-whos-soldier-whos-spy |date=May 5, 2011 |publisher=Fox News |agency=] |access-date=February 5, 2013}}</ref>


<ref name=seal>{{cite web|last=Viegas|first=Jennifer|title=A U.S. Navy Seals' Secret Weapon: Elite Dog Team|url=http://news.discovery.com/animals/a-us-navy-seals-secret-weapon-elite-dog-team-110503.html|publisher=Discovery.com|access-date=May 5, 2011|date=May 2, 2011|archive-date=June 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611175321/http://news.discovery.com/animals/a-us-navy-seals-secret-weapon-elite-dog-team-110503.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-55">], "", '']'', May 2, 2011.</ref>


<ref name=dogname>{{cite news|last1=Brammer|first1=Jack |title=Obama thanks special forces for daring bin Laden raid|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014986679_obama07.html |access-date=May 7, 2011|work=] |date=May 7, 2011|first2=Steven |last2=Thomma}}</ref>
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<ref name="nypost2020">{{cite web |url=https://nypost.com/2020/09/07/bin-laden-may-have-sent-secret-messages-in-porn-videos-report/ |title=Osama bin Laden may have sent secret messages in porn videos, documentary claims |website=The New York Post |date=September 7, 2020 }}</ref>
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<ref name="ref-4">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/osama-bin-laden-dead-obama|newspaper=]|title=Osama bin Laden is dead, Obama announces|date=May 2, 2011|author=Declan Walsh, Richard Adams, Ewen MacAskill|location=London}}</ref> <ref name="esquire.com">{{cite web |last=Bronstein |first=Phil |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden-0313 |title=The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden&nbsp;... Is Screwed |website=] |date=February 11, 2013 }}</ref>


<ref name="dawn20110502">{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-killed-in-pakistan-says-obama.html|title=Osama bin Laden killed in Pakistan, says Obama|date=May 2, 2011|work=]|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="dangerroomstealth">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/aviation-geeks-scramble-to-i-d-osama-raids-mystery-copter/all/1|title=Aviation Geeks Scramble to ID bin Laden Raid's Mystery Copter|first=David |last=Axe|magazine=Wired|access-date=May 13, 2011|date=May 4, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="phonecall">{{cite news|first1=Adam |last1=Goldman |first2=Matt |last2=Apuzzo |url=http://hamptonroads.com/2011/05/phone-call-kuwaiti-courier-led-bin-laden |title=Phone call by Kuwaiti courier led to bin Laden |publisher=HamptonRoads.com |agency=Associated Press |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=December 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119064423/http://hamptonroads.com/2011/05/phone-call-kuwaiti-courier-led-bin-laden |archive-date=January 19, 2012}}</ref>
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<ref name="ref-15">{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/02/us-binladen-dna-idUSTRE7411HJ20110502|title=U.S. tests bin Laden's DNA, used facial ID: official|agency=Reuters |date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011|first=Tabassum|last=Zakaria}}</ref> <ref name="graphic">{{cite news|first=Bonnie |last=Berkowitz |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/bin-laden-killed/? |title=Graphic: Osama bin Laden killed at compound in Pakistan |date=May 5, 2011 |access-date=June 6, 2011 |newspaper=The Washington Post|display-authors=etal}}</ref>


<ref name="paknews">{{cite news|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=5815&Cat=13&dt=5/7/2011|title=Terror king dead, crown prince alive|date=May 7, 2011|first=Amir |last=Mir}}</ref>
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<ref name="theaustralian1">{{cite news|first1=Christina |last1=Lamb |first2=Nicola |last2=Smith |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/geronimo-ekia-38-minutes-to-mission-success/story-e6frg6so-1226052094513 |title=Geronimo! EKIA 38 minutes to mission success |work=The Australian |date=May 9, 2011|access-date=May 12, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-46">]. May 2, 2011]</ref>


<ref name="ref-50">{{cite news|first=Julianna|last=Goldman|title=Obama to Announce Bin Laden is Dead, US Official Says|date=May 1, 2011|publisher=Bloomberg|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-02/obama-to-announce-bin-laden-is-dead-in-white-house-address-official-says.html|publisher=Bloomberg|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="nbcpentagon">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/42906279 |title=Bin Laden 'firefight': Only one man was armed |first=Jim |last=Miklaszewski |date=May 5, 2011 |publisher=NBC News}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>


<ref name="LAT20110502">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bin-laden-pakistan-20110502,0,6166140.story|title=Suspicions grow over whether Pakistan aided Osama bin Laden|last=Rodriguez| first=Alex|date=May 2, 2011|work=Los Angeles Times |accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="nytonesided">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/us/politics/05binladen.html |title=Account Tells of One-Sided Battle in Bin Laden Raid |date=May 5, 2011 |first1=Mark |last1=Landler |first2=Mark |last2=Mazzetti |work=The New York Times}}</ref>


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<ref name="APsource"> May 6, 2011, Pauline Jelinek and Robert Burns</ref>
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<ref name="ST6return">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/navy-seals-return-united-states-killing-osama-bin/story?id=13525344|title=Navy SEALs Who Captured, Killed Osama Bin Laden Return to United States|access-date=May 4, 2011 |first1=Pierre |last1=Thomas |first2=Martha |last2=Raddatz |first3=Jake |last3=Tapper |first4=Jessica |last4=Hopper |date=May 4, 2011}}</ref>
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<ref name="guardian01">{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/bin-laden-body-buried-sea|title=Bin Laden's body buried at sea|work=The Guardian|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011|author=Whitaker, Brian|location=London}}</ref> <ref name="nytpakinvest">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/world/asia/05compound.html |title=Pakistani Military Investigates How Bin Laden Was Able to Hide in Plain View |work=The New York Times |first=Carlotta |last=Gall |author-link=Carlotta Gall |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=May 4, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="MazzettiCooper">{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/asia/02reconstruct-capture-osama-bin-laden.html|title=Detective Work on Courier Led to Breakthrough on Bin Laden|last=Mazzetti|first=Mark|coauthors=Cooper, Helene|newspaper=]|accessdate=May 2, 2011|date=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="abcnbarricades">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/osama-bin-laden-death-president-obama-visit-ground/story?id=13533748|title=Osama Bin Laden Raiders Encountered False Door, Found Small Arsenal in Compound|date=May 5, 2011|publisher=ABC News|first1=Jake |last1=Tapper |first2=Martha |last2=Raddatz |first3=Jessica |last3=Hopper}}</ref>


<ref name="DODCNN">{{cite news|url=http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/03/what-happened-at-the-obl-compound/|title=What DOD says happened at the OBL compound|publisher=CNN|access-date=July 1, 2011|date=May 3, 2011|archive-date=December 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216170139/http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/03/what-happened-at-the-obl-compound/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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<ref name="oneshotdeal">{{cite news |first=Kimberly |last=Dozier |title=AP sources: Raiders, White House knew secret bin Laden raid was a one-shot deal |url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/5425816-418/sources-bin-laden-raiders-knew-mission-a-one-shot-deal.html |date=May 17, 2011 |work=] |agency=] |access-date=June 23, 2011 |archive-date=April 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429050342/http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/5425816-418/sources-bin-laden-raiders-knew-mission-a-one-shot-deal.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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<ref name="navyburial">{{cite web |first=Jim |last=Garamone |title=Bin Laden Buried at Sea |url=http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=60124 |publisher=] |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=July 25, 2011 |archive-date=March 4, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304033959/http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=60124 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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<ref name="nyt20110505">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/world/asia/06react.html|title=Pakistani Army Chief Warns U.S. on Another Raid|last=Perlez|first=Jane|date=May 5, 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 5, 2011}}</ref>
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<ref name="ref-56">{{cite news|author=Salazar, Evan|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/01/state/n220658D41.DTL|title=Crowds gather in NYC, DC after bin Laden killed|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="ref-111">{{cite news |last=Zardari |first=Asif Ali |author-link=Asif Ali Zardari |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/pakistan-did-its-part/2011/05/02/AFHxmybF_story.html |title=Pakistan did its part |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-59">{{cite news|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h0B4t5TOkA9TulK0IK4JYjRG8UqA?docId=CNG.f6de33d85ff1350769dec913bc2a4047.01|title=Death of Bin Laden: Live report|publisher=Google News|agency=AFP|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="wsj20110505">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704810504576305033789955132|title=Pakistan Rejects U.S. Criticism|last=Wright|first=Tom|date=May 5, 2011|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=May 5, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="livetwitter">{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/02/heres-the-guy-who-unwittingly-live-tweeted-the-raid-on-bin-laden/ |title=Here's the guy who unwittingly live-tweeted the raid on Bin Laden |first=Mike |last=Butcher |date=May 2, 2011 |work=TechCrunch |access-date=May 18, 2011 |archive-date=May 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521194114/http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/02/heres-the-guy-who-unwittingly-live-tweeted-the-raid-on-bin-laden-2/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="http">{{cite news|publisher=ABC News|chapter=Political punch|date=May 2, 2011|url =http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/president-obama-had-authorized-bombing-of-compound-in-march-but-wanting-evidence-of-obls-death-cance.html|title=President Obama had authorized bombing of compound in March but, wanting evidence of OBL's death, cancelled it}}</ref>


<ref name="deceit">{{cite news |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/osama-bin-laden-killed-by-us-forces-pak-trapped-in-web-of-deceit/1/137298.html |title=How Pak is Trapped in Web of Deceit |first1=Qaswar |last1=Abbas |first2=Sandeep |last2=Unnithan |date=May 16, 2011 |work=] |access-date=May 19, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="Fox">{{Cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,41576,00.html|title=Report: Bin Laden Already Dead|publisher=Fox News|date=December 26, 2001|accessdate=May 25, 2010|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20061018194048/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,41576,00.html|archivedate=October 18, 2006}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-60">{{cite news|author=Nidal al-Mughrabi|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/02/us-binladen-palestinians-idUSTRE7414SS20110502|title=Abbas government welcomes bin Laden death, Hamas deplores|agency=Reuters |date=April 26, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="spooked">{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/05/pakistan_and_afghanistan_after_bin_laden |title=Pakistan and Afghanistan, after bin Laden: Badly spooked |author=A.R. |date=May 4, 2011 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=May 19, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-39">{{cite web|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=5697&Cat=13&dt=5/2/2011|title=Chopper crashes, three blasts heard near PMA Kakul|publisher=Thenews.com.pk|date=February 5, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="chopper">{{cite web |url=https://abc7.com/archive/8112975/ |title=Navy SEAL Black Hawk was no ordinary chopper |first=Leslie |last=Miller |date=May 4, 2011 |publisher=ABC News |access-date=May 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509063742/http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news%2Fnational_world&id=8112975 |archive-date=May 9, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>


<ref name="placeinhistory">{{cite news |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-03/world/bin.laden.abbottabad.pakistan_1_pakistani-city-helicopter-abbottabad |title=A sleepy Pakistani city awakes to violence, a unique place in history |first1=Aliza |last1=Kassim |first2=Giang |last2=Nguyen |date=May 3, 2011 |publisher=CNN |access-date=May 19, 2011 }}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
<ref name="Gupta">{{Cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/01/21/gupta.otsc/index.html|title=Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Bin Laden would need help if on dialysis|publisher=CNN|date=January 21, 2002|accessdate=May 24, 2010|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20061023013328/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/01/21/gupta.otsc/index.html|archivedate=October 23, 2006}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-48">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/05/osama-bin-laden-body-headed-for-burial-at-sea-officials-say.html|title=Osama Bin Laden Body Headed for Burial at Sea, Officials Say – The Note|publisher=ABC News|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="livingnextdoor">{{cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/hiding_in_plain_sight_how_neighbors_cant_believe_osama_lived_nextdoor/24090582.html |title='Can We Get Our Ball Back, Mister?' – Living Next Door To Osama Bin Laden |first1=Heather |last1=Maher |date=May 3, 2011 |publisher=] |access-date=May 19, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-5">{{cite news|title=Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda leader, dead – Barack Obama|date=May 2, 2011|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13256676|publisher=BBC News |accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="osamaoperation">{{cite web |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=5768&Cat=13&dt=May%205,%202011 |title=Neighbours say Army came after Osama operation |author=Usman Manzoor |date=May 5, 2011 |work=] |access-date=May 19, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ind20110502">{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mp-shocked-at-bin-laden-pakistan-discovery-2277941.html|title=MP 'shocked' at bin Laden Pakistan discovery|last=Woodcock|first=Andrew|date=May 2, 2011|work=The Independent |location=UK |accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="shotdead">{{cite news |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/05/04/147782.html |title=Bin Laden's daughter confirms her father shot dead by U.S. Special Forces in Pakistan |author=Mushtaq Yusufzai |publisher=] |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=June 16, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-40">{{cite news|author=Ashfaq Yusufzai|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8487630/Osama-Bin-Laden-Dead-as-seen-by-local-residents.html|title=Osama Bin Laden Dead: as seen by local residents|work=The Telegraph|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011|location=London}}</ref> <ref name="nytchildren">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/world/asia/11pakistan.html |title=U.S. Still Waits for Access to Bin Laden Widows |first=Carlotta |last=Gall |work=The New York Times |date=May 10, 2011 |access-date=May 22, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="pocketguide">{{cite news |first=Christina |last=Lamb |title='CIA mole guided' SEALs to Osama bin Laden |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/cia-mole-guided-seals-to-osama-bin-laden/story-e6frg6so-1226060653470 |work=The Australian |date=May 23, 2011 |access-date=May 22, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-16">, Reuters May 2, 2011</ref>


<ref name="ref-32">{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/02/bin-laden-operation-conducted-by-us-forces-pakistan.html|title =Bin Laden operation conducted by U.S. forces: Pakistan|publisher=Dawn.com|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="abuhamza">{{cite news |url=http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/05/us-asks-pakistan-for-access-to-osama%E2%80%99s-family/ |title=US asks Pakistan for access to Osama's family |author=Shaiq Hussain |work=] |date=May 9, 2011 |access-date=May 22, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="goodneighbours">{{cite news|first=Peter |last=Oborne |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8490859/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-the-mysterious-Khan-family-who-were-good-neighbours.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8490859/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-the-mysterious-Khan-family-who-were-good-neighbours.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Osama bin Laden dead: the mysterious Khan family who were 'good neighbours' |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=May 22, 2011 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
<ref name="ABCNews">{{cite news|author=Schabner, Dean and Travers, Karen|title=Osama bin Laden Killed; ID Confirmed by DNA Testing|date=May 1, 2011|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-killed/story?id=13505703|publisher=]| accessdate=May 1, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="secretlife">{{cite news |first1=Elisabeth |last1=Bumiller |first2=Carlotta |last2=Gall |author2-link=Carlotta Gall |first3=Salman |last3=Masood |title=Bin Laden's Secret Life in a Diminished World |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/world/asia/08binladen.html |work=The New York Times |date=May 7, 2011 |access-date=May 25, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-62">{{cite web|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/did-pakistan-army-shelter-osama/784511|title=Did Pakistan Army shelter Osama?|publisher=IndianExpress}}</ref>


<ref name="demandsreturn">{{cite news |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/170755/operation-against-osama-yemeni-family-of-bin-laden-widow-demands-her-return/ |title=Yemeni family of Bin Laden widow demands her return |work=] |agency=] |date=May 19, 2011 |access-date=May 22, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-72">{{Cite news|author=Anna Willard and David Morgan|work=China Daily|agency=Reuters |url=http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2006-09/24/content_695522.htm|title=France, US, unable to confirm report bin Laden dead|date=September 23, 2006}}</ref>


<ref name="saudirefuses">{{cite news |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/171786/saudi-arabia-refuses-to-accept-osamas-family/ |title=Saudi Arabia refuses to accept Osama's family |work=] |date=May 19, 2011 |access-date=May 22, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-24">{{cite news|title=CNN liveblog of Osama death|url=http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/02/obama-to-make-statment-tonight-subject-unknown/}}</ref>


<ref name="Dedman">{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42853221/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/|title=How the U.S. tracked couriers to elaborate bin Laden compound|last=Dedman|first=Bill|publisher=MSNBC|accessdate=May 2, 2011|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5yNO6iaxq|archivedate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="daughterinfo">{{cite web |author=Umer Farooq |url=http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=25294 |title=Bin Laden daughter providing valuable information- Pakistani official |work=] |date=May 24, 2011 |access-date=May 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430111855/http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1 |archive-date=April 30, 2011 }}</ref>


<ref name="plainsight">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8500399/Osama-bin-Laden-killed-Hidden-in-plain-sight.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8500399/Osama-bin-Laden-killed-Hidden-in-plain-sight.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Osama bin Laden killed: Hidden in plain sight |first1=Dean |last1=Nelson |first2=Rob |last2=Crilly |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=May 8, 2011 |access-date=May 25, 2011 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-54">'']'', "", May 2, 2011.</ref>


<ref name="ref-41">{{cite web|author=Jonathan Karl|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/05/osama-bin-laden-body-headed-for-burial-at-sea-officials-say.html|title=Osama Bin Laden Body Headed for Burial at Sea, Officials Say|publisher=ABC News|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="leakedout">{{cite news |url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/how-the-osama-announcement-leaked-out/ |title=How the bin Laden Announcement Leaked Out |first=Brian |last=Stelter |author-link=Brian Stelter |work=The New York Times |date=May 1, 2011 |access-date=May 29, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="reuters20110502">{{cite news| title=U.S. handling bin Laden's body in Islamic tradition| first=Jeff| last=Mason| url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/02/us-obama-binladen-body-islam-idUSTRE7410WO20110502| agency=]| location=London, UK| date=May 2, 2011| accessdate=May 2, 2011| archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5yNDTAxUd| archivedate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="indiahunt">{{cite news |last=Phadnis |first=Aditi |author-link=Aditi Phadnis |url= http://tribune.com.pk/story/162161/taking-a-lesson-from-the-us-raid-can-india-hunt-down-terrorists-in-pakistan |title=After Bin Laden: 'Can India hunt down terrorists in Pakistan?' |work=] |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-58">{{cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6463361|title=Phillies crowd erupts in 'U-S-A' cheers|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011|first=Adam|last=Rubin|work=ESPNNewYork.com}}</ref> <ref name="ABC_13538365">{{cite news|first=Ariane |last=de Vogue |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/osama-bin-laden-killing-legal-international-law/story?id=13538365 |title=Was Killing of Osama bin Laden Legal Under International Law? |publisher=ABC News |date= May 6, 2011 |access-date=May 6, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-76">{{Cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2008/01/post_8.html|title=Editing Interviews|publisher=BBC News |author=Steve Herrmann|date=January 4, 2008|accessdate=May 20, 2010}}</ref> <ref name="killingslegality">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/03/osama-bin-laden-killing-legality |work=The Guardian |location=London |first=Owen |last=Bowcott |title=Osama bin Laden: U.S. responds to questions about killing's legality |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=May 5, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="pmspeech">{{cite news |title=Pakistan PM's speech on Osama bin Laden situation |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/142929/20110509/pakistan-pm-gilani-speech-osama-bin-laden.htm |work=] |author=Yousaf Raza Gilani |date=May 9, 2011 |access-date=June 16, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-67">{{Cite news|title=Officials, friends can't confirm Bin Laden death report|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/23/france.binladen/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=September 24, 2006|accessdate=May 20, 2010|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080103075436/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/23/france.binladen/index.html|archivedate=January 3, 2008}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-20">{{cite news|last=Flock|first=Elizabeth|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/bin-ladens-wives-children-arrested-in-raid--1-son-killed/2011/05/02/AFwSTuZF_blog.html|title=Bin Laden's wife used as human shield – BlogPost|work=The Washington Post |date=February 7, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="secretagreement">{{cite news |title=Osama bin Laden mission agreed in secret 10 years ago by U.S. and Pakistan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/09/osama-bin-laden-us-pakistan-deal |work=] |first=Declan |last=Walsh |date=May 9, 2011 |access-date=June 16, 2011 |location=London}}</ref>


<ref name="holdersenate">{{cite web|url=http://www.micevhill.com/attachments/immigration_documents/hosted_documents/112th_congress/TranscriptOfSenateJudiciaryCommitteeHearingOnJusticeDepartmentOversight.pdf |title=Transcript of Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Justice Department Oversight |publisher=] |first=Eric |last=Holder |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=June 16, 2011 |display-authors=etal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728024434/http://www.micevhill.com/attachments/immigration_documents/hosted_documents/112th_congress/TranscriptOfSenateJudiciaryCommitteeHearingOnJusticeDepartmentOversight.pdf |archive-date=July 28, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="Griffin">David Ray Griffin, ''Osama Bin Laden: Dead or Alive?'', pp. 3–5.</ref>


<ref name="ref-21">{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Brian|title=Osama Bin Laden: Navy SEALS Operation Details of Raid That Killed 9/11 Al Qaeda Leader|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/inside-operation-brought-osama-bin-laden/story?id=13506413&singlePage=true|accessdate=May 2, 2011|work=ABC News|date=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="reuters-legality">{{cite news|last=Longstreth |first=Andrew |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-binladen-usa-legal-idUSTRE7442NA20110505 |title=Analysis: Legal questions remain over bin Laden killing |work=Reuters |date=February 9, 2009 |access-date=May 5, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-74">{{cite web|url=http://youtube.com/watch?v=oIO8B6fpFSQ|title=Frost over the World – Benazir Bhutto|date=November 2, 2007|accessdate=January 15, 2008}}</ref> <ref name="expertsdivided">{{cite web |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/142448/20110507/osama-bin-laden-killing-legal-violate-international-law-experts-lawyers-divided.htm |title=Is Osama bin Laden killing legal? International Law experts divided |work=] |date=May 7, 2011 |access-date=June 16, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="cnn20110502">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/02/bin.laden.pakistan.role/|title=Official: Pakistan had but didn't probe data that helped make raid|date=May 2, 2011|publisher=CNN|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="bankimoon">{{cite news |title=UN Security Council, Ban Ki-moon Welcome Bin Laden's Death |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-02/un-security-council-ban-ki-moon-welcome-bin-laden-s-death.html |publisher=] |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=June 16, 2011 |first=Bill |last=Varner}}</ref>


<ref name="ref-42">{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42852700/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/|title=US forces kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan|publisher=MSNBC|date=February 5, 2011|accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="twoexperts">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38293 |title=Independent UN human rights experts seek facts on Bin Laden killing |publisher=UN News Centre |date=May 6, 2011 |access-date=June 16, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="ZengerleBull">{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/02/us-binladen-compound-idUSTRE7411NX20110502|title=Bin Laden was found at luxurious Pakistan compound|last=Zengerle|first=Patricia|coauthors=Bull, Alister|agency=Reuters |accessdate=May 2, 2011|date=May 2, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="cnnpictures">{{cite news|url=http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/03/even-more-on-the-photos/|title=Even more details on the OBL photos|date=May 3, 2011|publisher=CNN|first1=Stacia|last1=Deshishku|first2=Jessica|last2=Yellin|access-date=May 5, 2011|archive-date=December 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216094727/http://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/03/even-more-on-the-photos/|url-status=dead}}</ref>


<ref name="photographicproof">{{cite news |agency=] |title=The CIA has shown U.S. politicians photographic proof of the death of al-Qai'da founder Osama bin Laden |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/the-cia-has-shown-us-politicians-photographic-proof-of-the-death-of-al-qaida-founder-osama-bin-laden/story-fn8ljzlv-1226054642690 |work=The Australian |date=May 12, 2011 |access-date=June 6, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-71">{{Cite news|work=Le Monde |location=France| agency=]|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/web/depeches/0,14-0,39-28276934@7-37,0.html|title=Information sur la mort de ben Laden: Washington ne confirme pas|date=September 23, 2006|language=French}}{{Dead link|date=May 2010}}</ref>


<ref name="abcnophotos">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/concerned-about-potential-backlash-president-obama-wont-release-photo-of-bin-laden-corpse.html|title=Concerned About Potential Backlash, President Obama Won't Release Photo of Bin Laden Corpse|first=Jake|last=Tapper|access-date=May 13, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507064047/http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/05/concerned-about-potential-backlash-president-obama-wont-release-photo-of-bin-laden-corpse.html|archive-date=May 7, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-64">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2135473.stm|title=Bin Laden 'probably' dead|publisher=BBC News |date=July 18, 2002|accessdate=May 20, 2010}}</ref>


<ref name="foia">{{cite web|url=https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/almID/1202493006424&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1/|title=Experts predict difficulties for news orgs' FOIA requests to release bin Laden photos|first1=Jenna |last1=Greene |date=May 4, 2011 |website=National Law Journal}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-68">{{Cite news|work=]|agency=Reuters |url=http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-9-22/46268.html|title=French paper says bin Laden died in Pakistan|date=September 23, 2006}}{{Dead link|date=May 2010}}</ref>


<ref name=scrutiny>{{cite news |title=Pakistan says had no knowledge of U.S. bin Laden raid |first=Chris |last=Allbritton |author2=Augustine Anthony |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-binladen-pakistan-statement-idUSTRE74242R20110503 |work=Reuters |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=May 7, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="DT20110502">{{cite news|url= http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488236/WikiLeaks-Osama-bin-Laden-protected-by-Pakistani-security.html|title=WikiLeaks: Osama bin Laden 'protected' by Pakistani security|last=Ross| first =Tim|date=May 2, 2011|work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK |accessdate=May 2, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="failuretodiscover">{{cite news |first1=Karin |last1=Brulliard |first2=Karen |last2=DeYoung |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pakistan-stresses-that-raid-was-a-us-mission/2011/05/02/AFd0eeXF_story.html |title=Pakistan's critics ask how bin Laden's refuge went unnoticed |date=May 2, 2011 |newspaper=] |access-date=May 2, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="ref-53">'']'', "", May 2, 2011.</ref>


<ref name="Abbottabad2003">{{cite news |title=Key al Qaeda operative lived in Abbottabad in 2003 |first=Saba |last=Imtiaz |author-link=Saba Imtiaz |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/161650/key-al-qaeda-operative-lived-in-abbottabad-in-2003/ |work=] |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="guardian_was_found">{{cite news| work=The Guardian|section=World|date=May 2, 2011|url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/02/how-osama-bin-laden-found?intcmp=239|title=How was Osama bin Laden found?|location=London|first=Ewen|last=MacAskill}}</ref>


<ref name="phonecall">{{cite news|url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hzn2dQHiUZBXHeHm6Lv78Uz6SwAA?docId=aaf5f9e12731497d8a3147a0e47899d4|title=Phone call by Kuwaiti courier led to bin Laden |agency=Associated Press|date=May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="AbbottabadScrutiny">{{cite news |title=Pakistan Town Had Long Drawn Scrutiny |first1=Matthew |last1=Rosenberg |first2=Tom |last2=Wright |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704322804576303240472777006 |work=] |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=May 13, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="skull">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/03/501364/main20059222.shtml|title=Bin Laden skull blown apart, official says|publisher=]|date=May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="mistrust">{{cite news |title=Special report: Why the U.S. mistrusts Pakistan's spies |first1=Chris |last1=Allbritton |first2=Mark |last2=Hosenball |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-binladen-pakistan-isi-idUSTRE74408220110505?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews |work=Reuters |date=May 5, 2011 |access-date=May 13, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="Frenchmen">{{cite news |title=AP Exclusive: 2 French men arrested in Pakistan |first1=Jamey |last1=Keaten |author2=Asif Shahzad |url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2011/apr/14/ap-exclusive-2-frenchmen-arrested-in-pakistan/ |work=] |agency=] |date=April 15, 2011 |access-date=May 13, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="dailymailwikileaks">{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1382908/Osama-Bin-Laden-dead-Did-WikiLeaks-force-Obama-out.html
|title=Did latest WikiLeaks revelations force U.S. to take out Bin Laden?|work=Daily Mail |location=UK |date=May 3, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011|first=Neil|last=Sears}}</ref>


<ref name="rumsfeldnewsmax">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/DonaldRumsfeld-gitmo-waterboarding-osamabinladen/2011/05/02/id/394820|title=Rumsfeld Exclusive: There Was No Waterboarding of Courier Source|publisher=]|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="time20110503">{{cite magazine|url=https://swampland.time.com/2011/05/03/cia-chief-breaks-silence-u-s-ruled-out-involving-pakistan-in-bin-laden-raid-early-on/|title=CIA Chief Breaks Silence: Pakistan Would Have Jeopardized bin Laden Raid, 'Impressive' Intel Captured|last=Calabresi|first=Massimo|date=May 3, 2011|magazine=Time|access-date=May 3, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="hassanghul">{{cite web|url=http://www.uruknet.info/?new=71873|title=Iraq – Morocco – Afghanistan – Pakistan: the rendition and torture of Hassan Ghul|publisher=Uruknet|date=November 15, 2010|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="kroft">{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-on-bin-laden-the-full-60-minutes-interview/ |title=Obama on bin Laden: The full '60 Minutes' interview |first=Steve |last=Kroft |publisher=] |date=May 4, 2011 |access-date=June 8, 2011}}</ref>


<ref name="miamifaraj">{{cite web|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/02/2197802/tip-that-led-to-bin-laden-may.html|title=Tip to bin Laden may have come from Guantánamo|work=]|date=May 2, 2011|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="guthrie">{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/vp/42876688 |title=Behind code words 'Geronimo' and 'Jackpot' |first=Savannah |last=Guthrie |publisher=] |date=May 3, 2011 |access-date=June 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105101908/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/vp/42876688 |archive-date=November 5, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


<ref name="wikileaksfaraj">{{cite web|url=http://wikileaks.ch/gitmo/pdf/ly/us9ly-010017dp.pdf|title=JTF-GTMO Detainee Assessment|publisher=]|date=September 10, 2008|accessdate=May 3, 2011}}</ref> <ref name="targetchapter6">{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/target-bin-laden-death-life-osama-bin-laden/story?id=13786598&singlePage=true |title=Chapter Six: The President Takes Aim |first=Jake |last=Tapper |publisher=ABC News |date=June 9, 2011 |access-date=June 13, 2011}}</ref>


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<ref name="ref-57">{{cite news |title=Bin Laden Announcement Twitter Traffic Spikes Higher Than The Super Bowl |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/02/bin-laden-announcement-twitter-traffic-spikes-higher-than-the-super-bowl |work=] |date=May 2, 2011 |access-date=May 2, 2011}}</ref>

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<ref name="worthfights">{{cite book|title=Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace |first=Leon |last=Panetta |year=2014 |publisher=Penguin Press HC |isbn=978-1-59420-596-5}}</ref>

<ref name="theory-special">{{cite journal|last=Wirtz|first=James J.|title=The Abbottabad raid and the theory of special operations|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01402390.2021.1933953|journal=Journal of Strategic Studies|date=2021|volume=45 |issue=6–7 |pages=972–992|doi=10.1080/01402390.2021.1933953|s2cid=236352806 }}</ref>

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<ref name="telegraphhamza">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488238/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-son-and-presumed-heir-also-killed-in-raid.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488238/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-son-and-presumed-heir-also-killed-in-raid.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Osama bin Laden dead: son and presumed heir also killed in raid |date=May 2, 2011 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |first=Damien |last=McElroy}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
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== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Bergen |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Bergen |title=Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden – from 9/11 to Abbottabad |year=2012 |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0-307-95557-9 |page=384}}
* {{cite book |last=Bowden |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Bowden |title=The Finish: The Killing of Osama Bin Laden |year=2012 |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |isbn=978-0-8021-2034-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Hersh |first=Seymour M. |author-link=Seymour M. Hersh |title=The Killing of Osama Bin Laden |year=2016 |publisher=Verso |isbn=978-1-78478-439-3}}
* {{cite web|title=Exclusive Investigation: The Truth Behind the Official Story of Finding Bin Laden|date=May 3, 2012|first=Gareth |last=Porter|work=Truthout|access-date=May 5, 2012|url=http://truth-out.org/news/item/8866-finding-bin-laden-the-truth-behind-the-official-story}}
* {{cite magazine|title=Getting Bin Laden|date=August 8, 2011|first=Nicholas |last=Schmindle|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=May 6, 2012|url=https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/08/110808fa_fact_schmidle}}
* Dahl, Erik J. “Finding Bin Laden: Lessons for a New American Way of Intelligence.” ''Political Science Quarterly'' 129, no. 2 (June 2014): 179–210. https://doi.org/10.1002/polq.12183.
* McMahon, Adam M. “Obama, Operation Neptune Spear, and the Specter of Failure.” ''Congress & the Presidency'' 51, no. 3 (September 2024): 302–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/07343469.2024.2357298.


==External links== ==External links==
{{Sister project links|wikt=no|commons=Death of Osama bin Laden|b=no|n=no|q=no|voy=no|s=Remarks by the President on Osama bin Laden|v=no|species=no}}
{{Commons category}}
*
{{wikisource-inline|Remarks by the President on Osama Bin Laden}}
* , a documentary behind the raid interviewing the important persons in the Situation Room (on ]; )
*China.org.cn "." Chinese English-language website opinion column. May 3, 2011.
* collected news and commentary at ]
*Phillips, Macon. "." ] Blog. May 2, 2011.
* {{NYTtopic|people/b/osama_bin_laden|Osama bin Laden}}
*"." ]
* , ''The Washington Post'' collection of maps, diagrams, and other images
*Garamone, Jim. "." ], ].
* Phillips, Macon. "". ] Blog. May 2, 2011.
*Garamone, Jim. "." ], ].
* "". ]
*"." Embassy of Pakistan in Washington. May 2, 2011.
*"." ]. May 2, 2011. * Garamone, Jim. "". ], ].
* Garamone, Jim. "". American Forces Press Service, ].
*"." (). ]. May 2, 2011.
* "". Embassy of Pakistan in Washington. May 2, 2011 (archived 14 January 2012)
*"." September 11 Families Association. May 2, 2011.
* "" (archived 6 May 2011). (). ]. May 2, 2011.
* (DigitalGlobe)
*" ShadowSpear. May 2, 2011. * . The Big Picture. '']''. May 2, 2011.
* , written by Adrian Brown from BBC News on September 10, 2012.

* , written by David Gritten from BBC News on May 2, 2011.
{{coord|34|10|9|N|73|14|33|E|scale:1000|display=title}}
* , written by Seymour M. Hersh from London Review of Books on May 21, 2015. Hersh challenges the official U.S. account of the death of bin Laden.


{{Osama bin Laden}} {{Osama bin Laden}}
{{US War on Terror}} {{Presidency of Barack Obama}}
{{Al-Qaeda}}
{{Pakistan and state terrorism}}
{{War on terror}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Death of Osama bin Laden}}
{{Abbottabad}}
{{Pakistan–United States relations}}
{{ESPN Major League Baseball}}
{{Major League Baseball on ESPN Radio}}
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Latest revision as of 00:47, 21 January 2025

2011 U.S. military operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan

Killing of Osama bin Laden
Part of the American manhunt for Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, 4 May 2011
Map of the approximate flight path of the Afghanistan-based American operatives to and from the compound in Pakistan
DateMay 2, 2011; 13 years ago (2011-05-02)
LocationBilal Town, Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
MotiveRetaliation for the September 11 attacks in 2001
Organized by United States
Participants List:
OutcomeDeath of Osama bin Laden shortly before 1:00 a.m. PKT
Deaths List:
This article is part of
a series aboutOsama bin Laden
Personal
1st General Emir of al-Qaeda
Works
Killing and legacy
This article is part of
a series aboutBarack Obama
Personal
Illinois State Senator and U.S. Senator from Illinois
44th President of the United States
Tenure
Policies
Appointments
Presidential campaigns
Barack Obama's signature Seal of the President of the United States

On May 2, 2011, the United States conducted Operation Neptune Spear, in which SEAL Team Six shot and killed Osama bin Laden at his "Waziristan Haveli" in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden, who founded al-Qaeda and masterminded the September 11 attacks, had been the subject of a United States military manhunt since the beginning of the War in Afghanistan, but escaped to Pakistan—allegedly with Pakistani support—during or after the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001. The mission was part of an effort led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), with the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) coordinating the Special Mission Units involved in the raid. In addition to SEAL Team Six, participating units under JSOC included the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) and the CIA's Special Activities Division, which recruits heavily from among former JSOC Special Mission Units.

Approved by American president Barack Obama and involving two dozen Navy SEALs in two Black Hawks, Operation Neptune Spear was launched from about 120 miles (190 km) away, near the Afghan city of Jalalabad. The raid took 40 minutes, and bin Laden was killed shortly before 1:00 a.m. Pakistan Standard Time (20:00 UTC, May 1). Three other men, including one of bin Laden's sons, and a woman in the compound were also killed. After the raid, the operatives returned to Afghanistan with bin Laden's corpse for identification and then flew over 850 miles (1,370 km) to the Arabian Sea, where he was buried in accordance with Islamic tradition.

Al-Qaeda confirmed bin Laden's death through posts made on militant websites on May 6, and vowed to avenge his killing. Additionally, Pakistani militant organizations, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban, vowed retaliation against the United States and against Pakistan for failing to prevent the American raid. The raid, which was supported by over 90% of the American public, was also welcomed by the United Nations, the European Union, and NATO, as well as a large number of international organizations and governments. However, it was condemned by two-thirds of the Pakistani public. Legal and ethical aspects of the killing, such as the failure to capture him alive in spite of him being unarmed, were questioned by Amnesty International. Also controversial was the decision to classify any photographic or DNA evidence of bin Laden's death. There was widespread discontent among Pakistanis with regard to how effectively the country's defences were breached by the United States, and how the Pakistan Air Force failed to detect and intercept any incoming American aircraft.

After the killing of bin Laden, Pakistani prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani formed a commission led by senior justice Javed Iqbal to investigate the circumstances of the assault. The resulting Abbottabad Commission Report reported that the "collective failure" of Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies had enabled bin Laden to hide in the country for nine years. The report was classified by the Pakistani government but was later leaked to and published by Al Jazeera Media Network on July 8, 2013.

Search for bin Laden

Main article: Manhunt for Osama bin Laden Further information: Killing of Osama bin Laden § Hillhouse and Hersh reports

Accounts of how bin Laden was located by U.S. intelligence differ. The White House and CIA director John Brennan stated that the process began with a fragment of information unearthed in 2002, resulting in years of investigation. This account states that by September 2010, these leads followed a courier to the Abbottabad compound, where the U.S. began intensive multiplatform surveillance.

Identity of courier

According to the earlier official version of his identification from a U.S. official, identification of al-Qaeda couriers was an early priority for interrogators at CIA black sites and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, because bin Laden was believed to communicate through such couriers while concealing his whereabouts from al-Qaeda foot soldiers and top commanders. Bin Laden was known not to use phones after 1998, when the U.S. had launched missile strikes against his bases in Afghanistan in August of that year by tracking an associate's satellite phone.

The U.S. official had stated that by 2002, interrogators had heard uncorroborated claims about an al-Qaeda courier with the kunya Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti (sometimes referred to as Sheikh Abu Ahmed from Kuwait). One of those claims came from Mohammed al-Qahtani, a detainee interrogated for 48 days more or less continuously between November 23, 2002, and January 11, 2003. At some point during this period, al-Qahtani told interrogators about a man known as Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti who was part of the inner circle of al-Qaeda. Later in 2003, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged operational chief of al-Qaeda, said he was acquainted with al-Kuwaiti but that the man was not active in al-Qaeda, according to a U.S. official.

According to a U.S. official, in 2004 a prisoner named Hassan Ghul revealed that bin Laden relied on a trusted courier known as al-Kuwaiti. Ghul said al-Kuwaiti was close to bin Laden as well as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Mohammed's successor Abu Faraj al-Libbi. Ghul revealed that al-Kuwaiti had not been seen in some time, which led U.S. officials to suspect he was traveling with bin Laden. When confronted with Ghul's account, Mohammed maintained his original story. Abu Faraj al-Libbi was captured in 2005 and transferred to Guantánamo in September 2006. He told CIA interrogators that bin Laden's courier was a man named Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq Jan and denied knowing al-Kuwaiti. Because both Mohammed and al-Libbi had minimized al-Kuwaiti's importance, officials speculated that he was part of bin Laden's inner circle.

In 2007, officials learned al-Kuwaiti's real name, though they said they would disclose neither the name nor how they learned it. Pakistani officials in 2011 stated the courier's name was Ibrahim Saeed Ahmed, from Pakistan's Swat Valley. He and his brother Abrar and their families were living at bin Laden's compound, the officials said. The name Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq Jan appears in the leaked JTF-GTMO detainee assessment for Abu Faraj al-Libbi, but the CIA never found anyone named Maulawi Jan and concluded that the name was an invention of al-Libbi. A 2010 wiretap of another suspect picked up a conversation with al-Kuwaiti. CIA paramilitary operatives located al-Kuwaiti in August 2010 and followed him back to the Abbottabad compound, which led them to speculate it was bin Laden's location.

The courier and a relative (who was either a brother or a cousin) were killed in the May 2, 2011 raid. Afterward, some locals identified the men as Pashtuns named Arshad and Tareq Khan. Arshad Khan was carrying an old, noncomputerized Pakistani identification card, which identified him as from Khat Kuruna, a village near Charsadda in northwestern Pakistan. Pakistani officials have found no record of an Arshad Khan in that area and suspect the men were living under false identities.

Bin Laden's compound

Main article: Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad

The CIA used surveillance photos and intelligence reports to determine the identities of the inhabitants of the Abbottabad compound to which the courier was traveling. In September 2010, the CIA concluded that the compound was custom-built to hide someone of significance, very likely bin Laden. Officials surmised that he was living there with his youngest wife and family.

Built in 2004, the three-story compound was at the end of a narrow dirt road located 4.0 kilometres (2+1⁄2 miles) northeast of the city center of Abbottabad. Abbottabad is about 160 km (100 mi) from the Afghanistan border on the far eastern side of Pakistan (about 30 km or 20 mi from India). The compound is 1.3 km (3⁄4 mi) southwest of the Pakistan Military Academy. Located on a plot of land eight times larger than those of nearby houses, the compound was surrounded by a 3.7-to-5.5-metre (12 to 18 ft) concrete wall topped with barbed wire. It had two security gates, and the third-floor balcony had a 2.1-metre-high (7 ft) privacy wall, tall enough to hide the 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) bin Laden.

The compound had no Internet or landline telephone service. Its residents burned their refuse, unlike their neighbors, who set their garbage out for collection. Local residents called the building the Waziristan Haveli, because they believed the owner was from Waziristan. Following the American raid and killing of bin Laden, the Pakistani government demolished the compound in February 2012.

Intelligence gathering

CIA aerial photo of the compound

The CIA led the effort to surveil and gather intelligence on the compound; other critical roles in the operation were played by other United States agencies, including the National Security Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and U.S. Defense Department. U.S. officials told The Washington Post that the intelligence-gathering effort "was so extensive and costly that the CIA went to Congress in December to secure authority to reallocate tens of millions of dollars within assorted agency budgets to fund it."

The CIA rented a home in Abbottabad from which a team staked out and observed the compound over a number of months. The CIA team used informants and other techniques—including a widely criticized fake polio vaccination program— to gather intelligence on the compound. The safe house was abandoned immediately after bin Laden's death. The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency helped the Joint Special Operations Command create mission simulators for the pilots, and analyzed data from an RQ-170 drone before, during and after the raid on the compound. The NGA created three-dimensional renderings of the house, created schedules describing residential traffic patterns, and assessed the number, height and gender of the residents of the compound. Also involved in the intelligence gathering measures were an arm of the National Security Agency known as the Tailored Access Operations group which, among other things, is specialized in surreptitiously installing spyware and tracking devices on targeted computers and mobile-phone networks. Because of the work of the Tailored Access Operations group, the NSA could collect intelligence from mobile phones that were used by al-Qaeda operatives and other "persons of interest" in the hunt for bin Laden.

The design of bin Laden's compound may have ultimately contributed to his discovery. A former CIA official involved in the manhunt told The Washington Post: "The place was three stories high, and you could watch it from a variety of angles."

The CIA used a process called "red teaming" on the collected intelligence to independently review the circumstantial evidence and available facts of their case that bin Laden was living at the Abbottabad compound. An administration official said, "We conducted red-team exercises and other forms of alternative analysis to check our work. No other candidate fit the bill as well as bin Laden did."

Despite what officials described as an extraordinarily concentrated collection effort leading up to the operation, no U.S. spy agency was ever able to capture a photograph of bin Laden at the compound before the raid or a recording of the voice of the mysterious male figure whose family occupied the structure's top two floors.

Operation Neptune Spear

Operation Neptune Spear
Part of the Global War on Terrorism and the War in North-West Pakistan
Killing of Osama bin Laden is located in PakistanAbbottabadAbbottabadIslamabadIslamabadJalalabadJalalabadBagramBagramNorth Arabian SeaNorth Arabian Sea
Map of Pakistan:Abbottabad is 55 km (34 mi) from the capital Islamabad, 269 km (167 mi) from Jalalabad Airfield and 373 km (232 mi) from Bagram Airfield. Bagram is about 1,370 km (850 mi) from the North Arabian Sea (straight line distances, as travel distances significantly more), where the burial took place.
DateMay 1–2, 2011
(1 day)
LocationCompound of Osama bin Laden, Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan34°10′9″N 73°14′33″E / 34.16917°N 73.24250°E / 34.16917; 73.24250
Result

American victory

Belligerents
 United States  Al-Qaeda
Commanders and leaders
Strength
79 JSOC and CIA operatives
1 Belgian Malinois (military dog)
5 helicopters		 Potential/confirmed combatants:
9 adults (4 men, 5 women)
Non-combatants:
13 children
Casualties and losses
1 helicopter crashed (no casualties) 5 killed (4 men, 1 woman)
17 captured (incl. 1 injured)
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(North-West Pakistan)
American airstrikes
Damadola
Chenagai
Dande Darpakhel
Miramshah
Baghar China
Laghman
Shrawangai Nazarkhel
Datta Khel
Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan:

The official mission code name was Operation Neptune Spear. Neptune's spear is the trident, which appears on the U.S. Navy's Special Warfare insignia.

Objective

The Associated Press reported at the time two U.S. officials as stating the operation was "a kill-or-capture mission, since the U.S. doesn't kill unarmed people trying to surrender," but that "it was clear from the beginning that whoever was behind those walls had no intention of surrendering." White House counterterrorism advisor John O. Brennan said after the raid: "If we had the opportunity to take bin Laden alive, if he didn't present any threat, the individuals involved were able and prepared to do that." CIA Director Leon Panetta said on PBS NewsHour: "The authority here was to kill bin Laden. ... Obviously under the rules of engagement, if he in fact had thrown up his hands, surrendered and didn't appear to be representing any kind of threat, then they were to capture him. But, they had full authority to kill him." A U.S. national security official, who was not named, told Reuters that "This was a kill operation." Another official said that when the SEALS were told "We think we found Osama bin Laden, and your job is to kill him," they started to cheer. An article published in Political Science Quarterly in 2016 surveyed various published accounts and interpretations of the objective of the mission and concluded that "the capture option was mainly there for appearance's sake and to fulfill requirements of international law and that everyone involved considered it for all practical purposes a mission to kill."

Planning and final decision

The CIA briefed Vice Admiral William H. McRaven, the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), about the compound in January 2011. The admiral was both a student and practitioner of special operations, having published a thesis on the subject during the 1990s. His theory held that special operations had the potential to be very effective in achieving their goal if they were organized and commanded by special operations professionals rather than being subsumed into larger military units or operations. He believed that such actions required that "relative superiority" be gained during the operation in question via characteristics such as simplicity, security, rehearsals, surprise, speed, and a clearly-but-narrowly defined purpose.

In this case, McRaven said a commando raid would be fairly straightforward but he was concerned about the Pakistani response. He assigned a captain from the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) to work with a CIA team at their campus in Langley, Virginia. The captain, named "Brian", set up an office in the printing plant in the CIA's Langley compound and, with six other JSOC officers, began to plan the raid. Administration attorneys considered legal implications and options before the raid.

In addition to a helicopter raid, planners considered attacking the compound with B-2 Spirit stealth bombers. They also considered a joint operation with Pakistani forces. Obama decided that the Pakistani government and military could not be trusted to maintain operational security for the operation against bin Laden. "There was a real lack of confidence that the Pakistanis could keep this secret for more than a nanosecond", a senior adviser to the President told The New Yorker.

Obama met with the National Security Council on March 14 to review the options; he was concerned that the mission would be exposed and wanted to proceed quickly. For that reason he ruled out involving the Pakistanis. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military officials expressed doubts as to whether bin Laden was in the compound, and whether a commando raid was worth the risk. At the end of the meeting, the president seemed to be leaning toward a bombing mission. Two U.S. Air Force officers were tasked with exploring that option further.

The CIA was unable to rule out the existence of an underground bunker below the compound. Presuming that one existed, 32 2,000-pound (910 kg) bombs fitted with JDAM guidance systems would be required to destroy it. With that amount of ordnance, at least one other house was in the blast radius. Estimates were that up to a dozen civilians would be killed in addition to those in the compound. Furthermore, the evidence that bin Laden was dead would have been obliterated. Presented with this information at the next Security Council meeting on March 29, Obama put the bombing plan on hold. Instead he directed Admiral McRaven to develop the plan for a helicopter raid. The U.S. intelligence community also studied an option of hitting bin Laden with a drone-fired small tactical munition as he paced in his compound's vegetable garden.

McRaven hand-picked a team consisting the most experienced and senior operators from Red Squadron, one of four that make up DEVGRU. Red Squadron was coming home from Afghanistan and could be redirected without attracting attention. The team had language skills and experience with cross-border operations into Pakistan. Almost all the Red Squadron operators had ten or more deployments to Afghanistan.

Without being told the exact nature of their mission, the team performed rehearsals of the raid in two locations in the U.S.—around April 10 at Harvey Point Defense Testing Activity facility in North Carolina where a 1:1 version of bin Laden's compound was built (36°05′57.9″N 76°20′55.7″W / 36.099417°N 76.348806°W / 36.099417; -76.348806), and April 18 in Nevada. The location in Nevada was at 1,200 m (4,000 ft) elevation—chosen to test the effects the altitude would have on the raiders' helicopters. The Nevada mock-up used chain-link fences to simulate the compound walls, which left the U.S. participants unaware of the potential effects of the high compound walls on the helicopters' lift capabilities.

Planners believed the SEALs could get to Abbottabad and back without being challenged by the Pakistani military. The helicopters (modified Black Hawk helicopters) to be used in the raid had been designed to be quiet and to have low radar visibility. Since the U.S. had helped equip and train the Pakistanis, their defensive capabilities were known. (The U.S. had supplied F-16 Fighting Falcons to Pakistan on the condition they were kept at a Pakistani military base under 24-hour U.S. surveillance.)

If bin Laden surrendered, he would be held near Bagram Air Base. If the SEALs were discovered by the Pakistanis in the middle of the raid, Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen would call Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and try to negotiate their release.

When the National Security Council (NSC) met again on April 19, Obama gave provisional approval for the helicopter raid. Worried that the plan for dealing with the Pakistanis was too uncertain, Obama asked Admiral McRaven to equip the team to fight its way out if necessary.

McRaven and the SEALs left for Afghanistan to practice at a one-acre (4,000 m), full-scale replica of the compound built on a restricted area of Bagram known as Camp Alpha. The team departed the U.S. from Naval Air Station Oceana on April 26 in a C-17 aircraft, refueled on the ground at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, landed at Bagram Air Base, then moved to Jalalabad on April 27.

On April 28, Admiral Mullen explained the final plan to the NSC. As a measure to bolster the "fight your way out" scenario, Chinook helicopters were to be positioned nearby with additional troops. The greater part of the advisers in the meeting supported going forward with the raid. Vice President Joe Biden laid out the risk of it going wrong and the potential for confrontation with the Pakistanis. According to Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes, "I don't remember it as being firmly against as much as it being about like, 'I'm going to point out the downsides that you need to consider from the perspective of Pakistan' ... Biden was just trying to make sure that Obama had a bunch of room for his decision-making." Gates advocated using the drone-missile option but changed his support the next day to the helicopter-raid plan. Obama said he wanted to speak directly to Admiral McRaven before he gave the order to proceed. The president asked if McRaven had learned anything since arriving in Afghanistan that caused him to lose confidence in the mission. McRaven told him the team was ready and that the next few nights would have a waning moon, good conditions for a raid.

On April 29 at 8:20 a.m. EDT, Obama conferred with his advisers and gave the final go-ahead. The raid would take place the following day. That evening the president was informed that the operation would be delayed one day due to cloudy weather.

On April 30, Obama called McRaven one more time to wish the SEALs well and to thank them for their service. That evening, the President attended the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, which was hosted by comedian and television actor Seth Meyers. At one point, Meyers joked: "People think bin Laden is hiding in the Hindu Kush, but did you know that every day from four to five he hosts a show on C-SPAN?" Obama laughed, despite his knowledge of the operation to come.

On May 1 at 1:22 p.m., Panetta, acting on the president's orders, directed McRaven to move forward with the operation. Shortly after 3 p.m., the president joined national security officials in the Situation Room to monitor the raid. They watched night-vision images taken from a Sentinel drone while Panetta, appearing in the corner of the screen from CIA headquarters, narrated what was happening. Video links with Panetta at CIA headquarters and McRaven in Afghanistan were set up in the Situation Room. In an adjoining office was the live drone feed presented on a laptop computer operated by Brigadier General Marshall Webb, assistant commander of JSOC. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was one of those in the Situation Room, and described it like this: "Contrary to some news reports and what you see in the movies, we had no means to see what was happening inside the building itself. All we could do was wait for an update from the team on the ground. I looked at the President. He was calm. Rarely have I been prouder to serve by his side as I was that day." Two other command centers monitored the raid from the U.S. Department of Defense headquarters at the Pentagon and the U.S. embassy in Islamabad.

According to Adm. McRaven, just before the mission launch Command Sergeant Major Chris Faris quoted the British SAS motto to his men: "Who dares wins."

Execution of the operation

Approach and entry

Diagram of Osama bin Laden's hideout, showing the high concrete walls that surrounded the compound

The raid was carried out by approximately two dozen heliborne U.S. Navy SEALs from DEVGRU's Red Squadron. For legal reasons (namely that the U.S. was not at war with Pakistan), the military personnel assigned to the mission were temporarily transferred to the control of the civilian Central Intelligence Agency.

The SEALs operated in teams and used weapons including the HK416 assault rifle (their primary weapon), the Mark 48 machine gun for fire support, and the MP7 personal defense weapon, which is used by some SEALs for close quarters and greater silence.

According to The New York Times, a total of "79 commandos and a dog" were involved in the raid. The military working dog was a Belgian Malinois named Cairo. According to one report, the dog was tasked with tracking "anyone who tried to escape and to alert SEALs to any approaching Pakistani security forces." The dog was to be used to help deter any Pakistani ground response to the raid and to help look for any hidden rooms or hidden doors in the compound. Additional personnel on the mission included a language interpreter, the dog handler, helicopter pilots, plus intelligence collectors, and navigators using highly classified hyperspectral imagers to view the operation.

The SEALs flew into Pakistan from a staging base in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan after originating at Bagram Air Base in northeastern Afghanistan. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), a U.S. Army Special Operations Command unit known as the "Night Stalkers," provided the two modified Black Hawk helicopters that were used for the raid itself, as well as the much larger Chinook heavy-lift helicopters that were employed as backups.

The Black Hawks were previously unseen "stealth" versions that flew more quietly and were harder to detect on radar than conventional models; due to the extra weight of the stealth equipment, their cargo was "calculated to the ounce, with the weather factored in."

The Chinooks kept on standby were on the ground "in a deserted area roughly two-thirds of the way" from Jalalabad to Abbottabad, with two additional SEAL teams consisting of approximately 24 DEVGRU operators for a "quick reaction force" (QRF). The Chinooks were equipped with 7.62mm GAU-17/A miniguns and GAU-21/B .50-caliber machine guns and extra fuel for the Black Hawks. Their mission was to interdict any Pakistani military attempts to interfere with the raid. Other Chinooks, holding 25 more SEALs from DEVGRU, were stationed just across the border in Afghanistan in case reinforcements were needed during the operation.

The 160th SOAR helicopters were supported by an array of other aircraft, to include fixed-wing fighter jets and drones. According to CNN, "the Air Force had a full team of combat search-and-rescue helicopters available."

The raid was scheduled for a time with little moonlight so the helicopters could enter Pakistan "low to the ground and undetected." The helicopters used hilly terrain and nap-of-the-earth techniques to reach the compound without appearing on radar and alerting the Pakistani military. The flight from Jalalabad to Abbottabad took about 90 minutes.

According to the mission plan, the first helicopter would hover over the compound's yard while its full team of SEALs fast-roped to the ground. At the same time, the second helicopter would fly to the northeast corner of the compound and deploy the interpreter, the dog and handler, and four SEALs to secure the perimeter. The team in the courtyard was to enter the house from the ground floor.

As they hovered above the target the first helicopter experienced a hazardous airflow condition known as a vortex ring state. This was aggravated by higher-than-expected air temperature and the high compound walls, which stopped the rotor downwash from diffusing. The helicopter's tail grazed one of the compound's walls, damaging its tail rotor, and the helicopter rolled onto its side. The pilot quickly buried the helicopter's nose to keep it from tipping over. None of the SEALs, crew, or pilots were seriously injured in the soft crash landing, which resulted in the helicopter resting against the wall, pitched at a 45-degree angle. The other helicopter landed outside the compound, and the SEALs scaled the walls to get inside. The SEALs advanced into the house, breaching walls and doors with explosives.

Entry into the house

Situation Room: The U.S. national security team, with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden (left), and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gathered in the White House Situation Room to monitor the progress of the operation

The SEALs encountered the residents in the compound's guest house, in its main building on the first floor where two adult males lived, and on the second and third floors where bin Laden lived with his family. The second and third floors were the last section of the compound to be cleared. There were reportedly "small knots of children ... on every level, including the balcony of bin Laden's room."

Osama bin Laden was killed in the raid and initial versions said three other men and a woman were killed as well: bin Laden's adult son Khalid, bin Laden's courier Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, al-Kuwaiti's brother Abrar, and Abrar's wife Bushra.

Conflicting reports of an initial firefight exist. Matt Bissonnette's book, No Easy Day, states that the team were in a "short firefight" before reaching bin Laden. An intelligence official told Seymour Hersh in 2015 that no firefight took place. In the earlier versions, Al-Kuwaiti is said to have opened fire on the first team of SEALs with an AK-47 from behind the guesthouse door, lightly injuring a SEAL with bullet fragments. A short firefight took place between al-Kuwaiti and the SEALs, in which al-Kuwaiti was killed. His wife Mariam was allegedly shot and wounded in the right shoulder. The courier's male relative Abrar was then said to have been shot and killed by the SEALs' second team on the first floor of the main house as shots had already been fired and the SEALs thought that he was armed with a loaded AK-47 (this was later confirmed to be true in the official report). A woman near him, later identified as Abrar's wife Bushra, was in this version also shot and killed. Bin Laden's young adult son is said to have encountered the SEALs on the staircase of the main house, and to have been shot and killed by the second team. An unnamed U.S. senior defense official said only one of the five people killed, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, was armed. The interior of the house was pitch dark, because CIA operatives had cut the power to the neighborhood. The U.S. military operators wore night-vision goggles that enabled them to see in the dark.

Killing of bin Laden

The SEALs encountered bin Laden on the third floor of the main building. Bin Laden was unarmed, "wearing the local loose-fitting tunic and pants known as a kurta paijama," which were later found to have €500 and two phone numbers sewn into the fabric.

Bin Laden peered through his bedroom door at the Americans advancing up the stairs, and the lead SEAL fired at him. Reports differ, though agree eventually he was hit by shots to the body and head. The initial shots either missed, hit him in the chest, the side, or in the head. A number of bin Laden's female relatives were near him. According to journalist Nicholas Schmidle, one of bin Laden's wives, Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah, motioned as if she were about to charge; the lead SEAL shot her in the leg, then grabbed both women and shoved them aside.

Robert J. O'Neill, who later publicly identified himself as one of the SEALs who shot bin Laden, states that he pushed past the lead SEAL, entered through the door and confronted bin Laden inside the bedroom. O'Neill states that bin Laden was standing behind a woman with his hands on her shoulders, pushing her forward. O'Neill immediately shot bin Laden twice in the forehead, then once more as bin Laden crumpled to the floor.

Bissonnette gives a conflicting account of the situation, writing that bin Laden had already been mortally wounded by the lead SEAL's shots from the staircase. The lead SEAL then pushed bin Laden's wives aside, attempting to shield the SEALs behind him in the case that either woman had an explosive device. After bin Laden staggered back or fell into the bedroom, Bissonnette and O'Neill entered the room, saw the wounded bin Laden on the ground, fired multiple rounds, and killed him. Journalist Peter Bergen investigated the conflicting claims and found that most of the SEALs present during the raid favored Bissonnette's account of the events. According to Bergen's sources, O'Neill did not mention firing the shots that killed bin Laden in the after-action report made following the operation.

The weapon used to kill bin Laden was an HK416 using 5.56mm NATO 77-grain OTM (open-tip match) rounds. The SEAL team leader radioed, "For God and country—Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo" and then, after being prompted by McRaven for confirmation, "Geronimo EKIA" (enemy killed in action). Watching the operation in the White House Situation Room, Obama simply said, "We got him."

Various authors have written that there were two weapons in bin Laden's room: an AKS-74U carbine and a Russian-made Makarov pistol. According to his wife Amal, bin Laden was shot before he could reach the AKS-74U. According to the Associated Press, the guns were on a shelf next to the door and the SEALs did not see them until they were photographing the body. According to journalist Matthew Cole, the guns were not loaded and only found later during a search of the third floor.

As the SEALs encountered women and children during the raid, they restrained them with plastic handcuffs or zip ties. After the raid was over, U.S. forces moved the surviving residents outside "for Pakistani forces to discover." The injured Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah continued to harangue the raiders in Arabic. Bin Laden's 12-year-old daughter Safia was allegedly struck in her foot or ankle by a piece of flying debris.

While bin Laden's body was taken by U.S. forces, the bodies of the four others killed in the raid were left behind at the compound and later taken into Pakistani custody.

Conclusion

USS Carl Vinson conducting flight operations in the Persian Gulf (April 4, 2011)

The raid was intended to take 40 minutes. The time between the team's entry in and exit from the compound was 38 minutes. According to the Associated Press, the assault was completed in the first 15 minutes.

Time in the compound was spent killing defenders, "moving carefully through the compound, room to room, floor to floor" securing the women and children, clearing "weapons stashes and barricades" including a false door, and searching the compound for information. U.S. personnel recovered three Kalashnikov rifles and two pistols, ten computer hard drives, documents, DVDs, almost a hundred thumb drives, a dozen cell phones, and "electronic equipment" for later analysis. The SEALs also discovered a large amount of opium stored in the house.

Since the helicopter that had made the emergency landing was damaged and unable to fly the team out, it was destroyed to safeguard its classified equipment, including an apparent stealth capability. The pilot smashed the instrument panel, radio, and the other classified fixtures, and the SEALs demolished the helicopter with explosives. Since the SEAL team was reduced to one operational helicopter, one of the two Chinooks held in reserve was dispatched to carry part of the team and bin Laden's body out of Pakistan.

While the American force gathered intelligence and destroyed the helicopter, a crowd of locals gathered outside the compound, curious about the noise and activity. An Urdu-speaking American officer, through a megaphone, told those gathered that it was a Pakistani military operation, and to remain at a distance.

While the official Department of Defense narrative did not mention the airbases used in the operation, later accounts indicated that the helicopters returned to Bagram Airfield. The body of Osama bin Laden was flown from Bagram to the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft escorted by two U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jets.

Burial of bin Laden

According to U.S. officials, bin Laden was buried at sea because no country would accept his remains. Before disposing of the body, the U.S. called the Saudi Arabian government, who approved of burying the body in the ocean. Muslim religious rites were performed aboard Carl Vinson in the North Arabian Sea within 24 hours of bin Laden's death. Preparations began at 10:10 a.m. local time and at-sea burial was completed at 11 a.m. The body was washed, wrapped in a white sheet and placed in a weighted plastic bag. An officer read prepared religious remarks which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. Afterward, bin Laden's body was placed onto a flat board. The board was tilted upward on one side and the body slid off into the sea.

In Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace, Leon Panetta wrote that bin Laden's body was draped in a white shroud, given final prayers in Arabic and placed inside a black bag loaded with 140 kg (300 lb) of iron chains, apparently to ensure that it would sink and never float. The body bag was placed on a white table at the rail of the ship, and the table was tipped to let the body bag slide into the sea, but the body bag did not slide and took the table with it. The table bobbed on the surface while the weighted body sank.

Pakistan–U.S. communication

According to Obama administration officials, U.S. officials did not share information about the raid with the government of Pakistan until it was over. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen called Pakistan's army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at about 3 am local time to inform him of the operation.

According to the Pakistani foreign ministry, the operation was conducted entirely by the U.S. forces. Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials said they were present at what they called a joint operation; President Asif Ali Zardari flatly denied this. Pakistan's foreign secretary Salman Bashir later confirmed that Pakistani military had scrambled F-16s after they became aware of the attack but that they reached the compound after the U.S. helicopters had left.

Identification of the body

Osama bin Laden's corpse was confirmed by President Obama in the Situation Room

U.S. forces used multiple methods to positively identify the body of Osama bin Laden:

  • Measurement of the body: Both the corpse and bin Laden were 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in); SEALs on the scene did not have a tape measure to measure the corpse, so a SEAL of known height lay down next to the body and the height was so approximated by comparison. Obama quipped, "You just blew up a $65 million helicopter and you don't have enough money to buy a tape measure?"
  • Facial recognition software: A photograph transmitted by the SEALs to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, for facial recognition analysis yielded a 90 to 95 percent likely match.
  • In-person identification: One or two women from the compound, including one of bin Laden's wives, identified bin Laden's body. A wife of bin Laden called him by name during the raid, inadvertently assisting in his identification by U.S. military forces on the ground.
  • DNA testing: The Associated Press and The New York Times reported that bin Laden's body could be identified by DNA profiling using tissue and blood samples taken from his sister who had died of brain cancer. ABC News stated, "Two samples were taken from bin Laden: one of these DNA samples was analyzed, and information was sent electronically back to Washington, D.C., from Bagram. Someone else from Afghanistan is physically bringing back a sample." A military medic took bone marrow and swabs from the body to use for the DNA testing. According to a senior U.S. Department of Defense official: DNA analysis conducted separately by Department of Defense and CIA labs positively identified Osama bin Laden. DNA samples collected from his body were compared to a comprehensive DNA profile derived from bin Laden's large extended family. Based on that analysis, the DNA is unquestionably his. The probability of a mistaken identity on the basis of this analysis is approximately one in 11.8 quadrillion.
  • Inference: Per the same DoD official, from the initial review of the materials removed from the Abbottabad compound the Department "assessed that much of this information, including personal correspondence between Osama bin Laden and others, as well as some of the video footage ... would only have been in his possession."

Local accounts

Beginning at 12:58 a.m. local time (19:58 UTC), Abbottabad resident Sohaib Athar sent a series of tweets starting with "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)." By 1:44 a.m. all was quiet until a plane flew over the city at 3:39 a.m. Neighbors took to their roofs and watched as U.S. special operations forces stormed the compound. One neighbor said, "I saw soldiers emerging from the helicopters and advancing towards the house. Some of them instructed us in chaste Pashto to turn off the lights and stay inside." Another man said he heard shooting and screams, then an explosion as a grounded helicopter was destroyed. The blast broke his bedroom window and left charred debris over a nearby field. A local security officer said he entered the compound shortly after the Americans left, before it was sealed off by the army. "There were four dead bodies, three male and one female and one female was injured," he said. "There was a lot of blood on the floor and one could easily see the marks like a dead body had been dragged out of the compound." Numerous witnesses reported that power, and possibly cellphone service, went out around the time of the raid and apparently included the military academy. Accounts differed as to the exact time of the blackout. One journalist concluded after interviewing several residents that it was a routine rolling blackout.

ISI reported after questioning survivors of the raid that there were 17 to 18 people in the compound at the time of the attack and that the Americans took away one person still alive, possibly a bin Laden son. The ISI said that survivors included a wife, a daughter and eight to nine other children, not apparently bin Laden's. An unnamed Pakistani security official was quoted as saying one of bin Laden's daughters told Pakistani investigators that bin Laden had been captured alive, then in front of family members was shot dead by U.S. forces and dragged to a helicopter.

Compound residents

U.S. officials said there were 22 people in the compound. Five were killed, including Osama bin Laden. Pakistani officials gave conflicting reports suggesting between 12 and 17 survivors. The Sunday Times subsequently published excerpts from a pocket guide, presumably dropped by the SEALs during the raid, containing pictures and descriptions of likely compound residents. The guide listed several adult children of bin Laden and their families who were not ultimately found in the compound. Because of a lack of accurate information, some of what follows cannot be verified as true.

  • Five adults dead: Osama bin Laden, 54; Khalid, his son by Siham (identified as Hamza in early accounts), 23; Arshad Khan, a.k.a. Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, the courier, described as the "flabby" one by The Sunday Times, 33; Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti's brother Abrar, 30; and Bushra, Abrar's wife, age unknown.
  • Four surviving women: Khairiah, bin Laden's third, Saudi wife a.k.a. Um Hamza, 62; Siham, bin Laden's fourth, Saudi wife a.k.a. Um Khalid, 54; Amal, bin Laden's fifth, Yemeni wife, a.k.a. Amal Ahmed Abdul Fatah, 29 (injured); and Mariam, Arshad Khan's Pakistani wife.
  • Five minor children of Osama and Amal: Safia, a daughter, 12; a son, 5; another son, age unknown; and infant twin daughters.
  • Four bin Laden grandchildren from an unidentified daughter who had been killed in an airstrike in Waziristan. Two may be the boys, around 10, who spoke to Pakistani investigators.
  • Four children of Arshad Khan: Two sons, Abdur Rahman and Khalid, 6 or 7; a daughter, age unknown; and another child, age unknown.

Aftermath

Leaks of the news

An ABC News digital board in Times Square after Bin Laden's death

Around 9:45 p.m. EDT, the White House announced that the president would be addressing the nation later in the evening. At 10:24:05 p.m. EDT the first public leak was made by Navy Reserve intel officer Keith Urbahn and 47 seconds later by actor and professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson on Twitter. Anonymous government officials confirmed details to the media, and by 11 p.m. numerous major news sources were reporting that bin Laden was dead; the number of leaks were characterized as "voluminous" by David E. Sanger.

U.S. presidential address

President Obama's address (9:28) Also available: Audio only, full text [REDACTED]

At 11:35 p.m., President Obama appeared on major television networks:

Good evening. 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 was responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children ... (cont'd) [REDACTED]

President Obama recalled the victims of the September 11 attacks. He praised the nearly ten-year-old war against al-Qaeda, which he said had disrupted terrorist plots, strengthened homeland defenses, removed the Taliban government, and captured or killed scores of al-Qaeda operatives. Obama said that when he took office he made finding bin Laden the top priority of the war, and that Bin Laden's death was the most significant blow to al-Qaeda so far but the war would continue. He reaffirmed that the U.S. was not at war against Islam and defended his decision to conduct an operation within Pakistan. He said Americans understood the cost of war but would not stand by while their security was threatened. "To those families who have lost loved ones to al-Qaeda's terror," he said, "justice has been done." This remark book-ended President Bush's statement to a joint session of Congress following the September 11 attacks that "justice will be done."

Reactions

Main article: Reactions to the killing of Osama bin Laden
Americans in front of The White House celebrating Osama bin Laden's death
Woman in Times Square celebrating bin Laden's death

Before the official announcement, large crowds spontaneously gathered outside the White House, Ground Zero, The Pentagon, and in New York's Times Square to celebrate. In Dearborn, Michigan, where there is a large Muslim and Arab population, a small crowd gathered outside the City Hall in celebration, many of them of Middle Eastern descent. From the beginning to the end of Obama's speech, 5,000 tweets per second were posted on Twitter. As news of bin Laden's death filtered through the crowd at a nationally televised Major League Baseball game in Philadelphia between rivals Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets, "U-S-A!" cheers began. In Tampa, Florida, at the conclusion of a professional wrestling event which was occurring at the time, WWE Champion John Cena announced to the audience that bin Laden had been "caught and compromised to a permanent end," prompting chants while he exited the arena to the march "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

The deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said that, with bin Laden dead, Western forces should now pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan; authorities in Iran made similar comments. Palestinian Authority leaders had contrasting reactions. Mahmoud Abbas welcomed bin Laden's death, while Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, condemned what he saw as the assassination of an "Arab holy warrior."

The 14th Dalai Lama was quoted by the Los Angeles Times as saying, "Forgiveness doesn't mean forget what happened. ... If something is serious and it is necessary to take counter-measures, you have to take counter-measures." This was widely reported as an endorsement of bin Laden's killing and was criticized in Buddhist circles, but another journalist cited a video of the discussion to argue that the comment was taken out of context and the Dalai Lama supports killing only in self-defense.

A CBS/The New York Times poll taken after bin Laden's death showed that 16% of Americans feel safer as the result of his death while 60% of Americans of those polled believe killing bin Laden would likely increase the threat of terrorism against the U.S. in the short term.

In India, Minister for Home Affairs P. Chidambaram said that bin Laden hiding "deep inside" Pakistan was a matter of grave concern for India and showed that "many of the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks, including the controllers and the handlers of the terrorists who actually carried out the attack, continue to be sheltered in Pakistan." He also called on Pakistan to arrest them, amidst calls for similar strikes being conducted by India against Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim.

Freedom of Information Act requests and denials

Although the Abbottabad raid has been described in great detail by U.S. officials, no physical evidence constituting "proof of death" has been offered to the public, neither to journalists nor to independent third parties who have requested this information through the Freedom of Information Act. Numerous organizations filed FOIA requests seeking at least a partial release of photographs, videos, and/or DNA test results, including The Associated Press, Reuters, CBS News, Judicial Watch, Politico, Fox News, Citizens United, and NPR. On April 26, 2012, Judge James E. Boasberg held that the Department of Defense was not required to release any evidence to the public.

According to a draft report by the Pentagon's inspector general, Admiral William McRaven, the top special operations commander, ordered the Department of Defense to purge from its computer systems all files on the bin Laden raid after first sending them to the CIA. Any mention of this decision was expunged from the final version of the inspector general's report. According to the Pentagon, this was done to protect the identities of the Navy SEALs involved in the raid. The legal justification for the records transfer is that the SEALs were effectively working for the CIA at the time of the raid, which ostensibly means that any records of the raid belong to the CIA. "Documents related to the raid were handled in a manner consistent with the fact that the operation was conducted under the direction of the CIA director," CIA agency spokesman Preston Golson said in an emailed statement. "Records of a CIA operation such as the (bin Laden) raid, which were created during the conduct of the operation by persons acting under the authority of the CIA Director, are CIA records." Golson said it is absolutely false that records were moved to the CIA to avoid the legal requirements of the Freedom of Information Act. The National Security Archive has criticized this maneuver, saying that the records have now gone into a "FOIA black hole":

What the transfer really did was ensure that the files would be placed in the CIA's operational records, a records system that—due to the 1986 CIA Operational Files exemption—is not subject to the FOIA and is a black hole for anyone trying to access the files within. The move prevents the public from accessing the official record about the raid, and bypasses several important federal records keeping procedures in the process.

The United States Defense Department can prevent the release of its own military files citing risks to national security, but that can be contested in court, and a judge can compel the Pentagon to turn over non-sensitive portions of records. The CIA has special authority to prevent the release of operational files in ways that cannot be challenged in federal court. Richard Lardner, reporting for the Associated Press, wrote that the maneuver "could represent a new strategy for the U.S. government to shield even its most sensitive activities from public scrutiny."

The inspector general's draft report also described how former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta disclosed classified information to the makers of Zero Dark Thirty, including the unit that conducted the raid and the ground commander's name.

Legality

Under U.S. law

Following the attacks of September 11, the U.S. Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, which authorized the President to use "necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons" he determines were involved in the attacks. Congresswoman Barbara Lee has initiated several attempts to repeal the authorization. The Obama administration justified its use of force by relying on that resolution, as well as international law set forth in treaties and customary laws of war.

Website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation listing bin Laden as deceased on the Most Wanted List on May 3, 2011

John Bellinger III, who served as the U.S. State Department's senior lawyer during President George W. Bush's second term, said the strike was a legitimate military action and did not run counter to the U.S.' self-imposed prohibition on assassinations:

The killing is not prohibited by the long-standing assassination prohibition in executive order 12333 , because the action was a military action in the ongoing U.S. armed conflict with al-Qaeda, and it is not prohibited to kill specific leaders of an opposing force. The assassination prohibition does not apply to killings in self-defense.

Similarly, Harold Hongju Koh, Legal Adviser of the U.S. State Department, said in 2010 that "under domestic law, the use of lawful weapons systems—consistent with the applicable laws of war—for precision targeting of specific high-level belligerent leaders when acting in self-defense or during an armed conflict is not unlawful, and hence does not constitute 'assassination.'"

David Scheffer, director of the Northwestern University School of Law Center for International Human Rights, said the fact that bin Laden had previously been indicted in 1998 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for conspiracy to attack U.S. defense installations was a complicating factor. "Normally when an individual is under indictment the purpose is to capture that person in order to bring him to court to try him ... The object is not to literally summarily execute him if he's under indictment." Scheffer and another expert stated that it was important to determine whether the mission was to capture bin Laden or to kill him. If the Navy SEALs were instructed to kill bin Laden without trying first to capture him, it "may have violated American ideals if not international law."

Under international law

In an address to the Pakistani parliament, Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said, "Our people are rightly incensed on the issue of violation of sovereignty as typified by the covert U.S. air and ground assault on the Osama hideout in Abbottabad. ... The Security Council, while exhorting UN member states to join their efforts against terrorism, has repeatedly emphasized that this be done in accordance with international law, human rights and humanitarian law." Former Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf denied a report in The Guardian that his government made a secret agreement permitting U.S. forces to conduct unilateral raids in search of the top three al-Qaeda leaders.

In testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder said, "The operation against bin Laden was justified as an act of national self-defense. It's lawful to target an enemy commander in the field." He called the killing of bin Laden "a tremendous step forward in attaining justice for the nearly 3,000 innocent Americans who were murdered on September 11, 2001." Commenting on the legality under international law, University of Michigan Law Professor Steven Ratner said, "A lot of it depends on whether you believe Osama bin Laden is a combatant in a war or a suspect in a mass murder." In the latter case, "you would ... be able to kill a suspect if they represented an immediate threat."

Holder testified that bin Laden made no attempt to surrender, and "even if he had there would be a good basis on the part of those very brave Navy SEAL team members to do what they did in order to protect themselves and the other people who were in that building." According to Anthony Dworkin, an international law expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, if bin Laden was hors de combat (as his daughter is said to have alleged) that would have been a violation of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions.

Former Nuremberg prosecutor Benjamin B. Ferencz said it was unclear if bin Laden's killing was justified self-defense or premeditated illegal assassination, and that "killing a captive who poses no immediate threat is a crime under military law as well as all other law," a view also held by legal scholar Philippe Sands.

The UN Security Council released a statement applauding the news of bin Laden's death, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "very much relieved." Two United Nations Special Rapporteurs issued a joint statement seeking more information regarding the circumstances in which bin Laden was killed and cautioning that "actions taken by States in combating terrorism, especially in high profile cases, set precedents for the way in which the right to life will be treated in future instances."

Handling of the body

Under Islamic tradition, burial at sea is considered inappropriate when other, preferred forms of burial are available, and several prominent Islamic clerics criticized the decision. Mohamed Ahmed el-Tayeb, the head of Al-Azhar University, Egypt's seat of Sunni Muslim learning, said the disposal of the body at sea was an affront to religious and human values. Scholars like el-Tayeb hold that sea burials can be allowed only in special cases where the death occurred aboard a ship, and that the regular practice should have occurred in this case—the body buried in the ground with the head pointing to Islam's holy city of Mecca.

A stated advantage of a burial at sea is that the site is not readily identified or accessed, thus preventing it from becoming a focus of attention or "terrorist shrine." The Guardian questioned whether bin Laden's grave would have become a shrine, as this is strongly discouraged in Wahhabism. Addressing the same concern, Egyptian Islamic analyst and lawyer Montasser el-Zayat said that if the Americans wished to avoid making a shrine to bin Laden, an unmarked grave on land would have accomplished the same goal.

The Guardian also quoted a U.S. official explaining the anticipated difficulty of finding a country that would accept the burial of bin Laden in its soil. A professor of Islamic Law at the University of Jordan stated burying at sea was permitted if there was nobody to receive the body and provide a Muslim burial, but that "it's neither true nor correct to claim that there was nobody in the Muslim world ready to receive bin Laden's body." On a similar note, Mohammed al-Qubaisi, Dubai's grand mufti, stated: "They can say they buried him at sea, but they cannot say they did it according to Islam. If the family does not want him, it's really simple in Islam: you dig up a grave anywhere, even on a remote island, you say the prayers and that's it. Sea burials are permissible for Muslims in extraordinary circumstances. This is not one of them." Khalid Latif, an imam who serves as a chaplain and the director of the Islamic Center of New York University, argued that the sea burial was respectful.

Leor Halevi, a professor at Vanderbilt University and the author of Muhammad's Grave: Death Rites and the Making of Islamic Society, explained that Islamic law does not prescribe ordinary funerals for those killed in battle, and pointed to controversy within the Muslim world over whether bin Laden was, as a "mass murderer of Muslims," entitled to the same respect as mainstream Muslims. At the same time, he suggested that the burial could have been handled with more cultural sensitivity.

Omar bin Laden, son of Osama bin Laden, published a complaint on May 10, 2011, that the burial at sea deprived the family of a proper burial.

Bin Laden's will

After bin Laden's death, it was reported he had left a will written a short time after the September 11 attacks in which he urged his children not to join al-Qaeda and not to continue the Jihad.

Release of photographs

CNN cited a senior U.S. official as saying three sets of photographs of bin Laden's body exist: photos taken at an aircraft hangar in Afghanistan, described as the most recognizable and gruesome; photos taken from the burial at sea on USS Carl Vinson before a shroud was placed around his body; and photos from the raid itself, which include shots of the interior of the compound as well as three of the others who died in the raid.

CBS Evening News reported that the photo shows that the bullet which hit above bin Laden's left eye blew out his left eyeball and blew away a large portion of his frontal skull, exposing his brain. CNN stated that the pictures from the Afghanistan hangar depict "a massive open head wound across both eyes. It's very bloody and gory." U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe said the photos taken of the body on the Carl Vinson, which showed bin Laden's face after much of the blood and material had been washed away, should be released to the public.

A debate on whether the military photos should be released to the public took place. Those supporting the release argued that the photos should be considered public records, that they are necessary to complete the journalistic record, and that they would prove bin Laden's death and therefore prevent conspiracy theories. Those in opposition expressed concern that the photos would inflame anti-American sentiment in the Middle East.

Obama decided not to release the photos. In an interview aired on May 4 on 60 Minutes, he said: "We don't trot out this stuff as trophies. We don't need to spike the football." Obama said that he was concerned with ensuring that "very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence, or as a propaganda tool. That's not who we are." Among Republican members of Congress, Senator Lindsey Graham criticized the decision and said he wanted to see the photos released, while Senator John McCain and Representative Mike Rogers, the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, supported the decision.

On May 11, selected members of Congress (the congressional leadership and those who serve on the House and Senate intelligence, homeland security, judiciary, foreign relations, and armed forces committees) were shown 15 bin Laden photos. In an interview with Eliot Spitzer, Senator Jim Inhofe said that three of the photos were of bin Laden alive for identification reference. Three other photos were of the burial-at-sea ceremony.

The group Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain access to the photos in May 2011, soon after the raid. On May 9, the Department of Defense declined to process Judicial Watch's FOIA request, prompting Judicial Watch to file a federal lawsuit. In 2012, Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling denying release of the photographs. In May 2013, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit consisting of Chief Judge Merrick Garland, Senior Judge Harry T. Edwards, and Judge Judith Rogers affirmed the ruling, holding that 52 post-mortem images were properly classified as "top secret" and exempt from disclosure. Judicial Watch filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in August 2013, seeking U.S. Supreme Court review, but in January 2014 the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

The Associated Press filed a FOIA request for photographs and videos taken during the Abbottabad raid less than one day after bin Laden was killed. The AP also requested "contingency plans for bin Laden's capture, reports on the performance of equipment during the mission and copies of DNA tests" confirming bin Laden's identity. The Defense Department rejected the AP's request for expedited processing, a legal provision to shorten the amount of time to process FOIA requests. The Defense Department rejected the request, and the AP administratively appealed.

Alternative accounts

Seal Target Geronimo

A book published in November 2011, Seal Target Geronimo, by Chuck Pfarrer, a former SEAL, contradicted elements of the account as given by U.S. government sources.

Per Pfarrer, the primary helicopters used in the operation were designated Razor 1 and Razor 2. These helicopters, which were only used by elite U.S. special-operations units (namely the U.S. Navy's DEVGRU and the U.S. Army's Delta Force), were colloquially called Ghost Hawks due to their advanced stealth functions. The pilots of both Ghost Hawks each had at least a decade of experience flying stealth helicopters in combat. Razor 1 carried 10 assaulters (including some specially trained as snipers), and two demolitionists with expertise in strategically deploying explosives. Razor 2 also carried a squad of 12 American commandos, including a two-man sniper team that had participated in resolving the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking, and a designated artillery observer who was responsible for directing the team's weaponsfire. Pfarrer's account also suggests that the helicopter or helicopters heard hovering in Abbottabad that night were the Chinooks. One, which would have been referred to as the command bird, carried the officers running the operation and all of the members of Red Squadron who were not already assigned to approach the compound via Razors 1 and 2. The second Chinook, which Pfarrer calls the gun platform, was equipped with three M134 Miniguns (Gatling gun-style cannons), which would be used to provide suppressive fire from the air if need be.

According to Pfarrer, neither helicopter crashed at the beginning of the raid. Instead, the SEALs jumped onto the roof from the hovering Razor 1 helicopter and entered a third-floor hallway from the roof terrace. Osama's third wife, Khairah, was in the hallway, headed towards the SEALs. She was blinded by a strobe light and pushed to the floor as the SEALs went past her. Osama bin Laden stuck his head out of a bedroom door, saw the SEALs, and slammed the door closed. At the same time, Osama's son Khalid bin Laden ran up the stairs to the third floor and was killed with two shots.

Two SEALs broke through the bedroom door. Bin Laden's wife Amal was on the edge of the bed shouting in Arabic at the SEALs, and Osama bin Laden dived across the bed, shoving Amal at the same time, for an AKS-74U kept by the headboard. The SEALs fired four shots at bin Laden; the first missed, the second grazed Amal in the calf also missing bin Laden, and the final two hit bin Laden in the chest and head, killing him instantly. In Pfarrer's account, the total time elapsed from jumping on the roof to Osama bin Laden's death was between 30 and 90 seconds.

Around the same time, snipers in the hovering Razor 2 helicopter shot and killed Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti when he came to the door of the guest house firing an AK-47. One SEAL sniper fired two shots at al-Kuwaiti and the other fired two three-round bursts. Two of the snipers' bullets went through al-Kuwaiti and killed his wife who was standing behind him. The Razor 2 team cleared the guest house and then breached their way into the main house with explosives. As the Razor 2 team entered the main house, al-Qaeda courier Arshad Khan pointed his AK-47 gun and was killed with two shots. The SEAL team fired a total of 16 shots, killing Osama bin Laden, Khalid bin Laden, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, and al-Kuwaiti's wife, Arshad Khan, and wounding Osama bin Laden's wife Amal al-Sadah.

Twenty minutes into the operation, Razor 1 took off from the roof of the main house to reposition to a landing spot outside the compound. As Razor 1 was crossing over the courtyard, both "green unit" flight deck control systems went off line. The helicopter settled slowly, bounced off the ground, and then broke apart as it hit the ground a second time. Both failed green units were removed for later examination.

Media accounts had reported that the plan had been to fast rope to the inner courtyard and to clear the main house from the ground floor up. The helicopter crashed in the outer courtyard with the SEAL team still on board. The SEAL team exited and needed to breach two walls and then into the house. As a result, Osama bin Laden was killed several minutes into the operation. Pfarrer's account differs in that he wrote that a SEAL team was inserted onto the roof of the main house, that Osama bin Laden was killed seconds into the operation, and that the main house was cleared from the top down.

The Pentagon disputed Pfarrer's account of the raid, calling it "incorrect." The U.S. Special Operations Command also disputed Pfarrer's account, saying, "It's just not true. It's not how it happened."

No Easy Day

Main article: No Easy Day
Matt Bissonnette in March 2001

Matt Bissonnette, a SEAL who participated in the raid, wrote an account of the mission in the book No Easy Day (2012), which significantly contradicts Pfarrer's account. Bissonnette wrote that the helicopter approach and landing matched the official version. According to Bissonnette, when bin Laden peered out at the Americans advancing on his third-floor room, the SEAL who fired upon him hit him on the right side of the head. Bin Laden stumbled into his bedroom, where the SEALs found him crumpled and twitching on the floor in a pool of blood and brain matter, with two women crying over his body. The other SEALs allegedly grabbed the women, moved them away, and shot several rounds into bin Laden's chest until he was motionless. According to Bissonnette, the weapons in the room—an AK-47 rifle and a Makarov pistol—were unloaded.

Unlike the official account, Bissonnette's version alleges that bin Laden's wife Mariam was uninjured in the raid. In addition, Bissonnette states that the report of bin Laden's daughter Safia having splintered wood striking her foot is false, as he explains that it was rather his wife Amal who was injured by such fragments.

The author also asserted that one SEAL sat on bin Laden's chest in a cramped helicopter as his body was flown back to Afghanistan.

Bissonnette stated that a search of bin Laden's room after his death uncovered a bottle of Just for Men hair dye.

Esquire interview

In February 2013, Esquire conducted an interview with an anonymous individual called "the shooter" who said that bin Laden placed one of his wives between himself and the commandos, pushing her towards them. "Shooter" then claimed bin Laden stood up and had a gun "within reach" and it was only then that he fired two shots into bin Laden's forehead, killing him. Another member of SEAL Team Six said the story as presented in Esquire was false and "complete BS". Then, in November 2014, former SEAL Robert O'Neill disclosed his identity as the shooter in a series of interviews with The Washington Post.

Hillhouse and Hersh reports

Main article: Seymour Hersh § Death of Osama bin Laden

In 2011 American intelligence analyst Raelynn Hillhouse wrote that according to U.S. intelligence sources, the U.S. had been tipped-off to bin Laden's location by an unnamed Pakistani intelligence insider collecting the $25 million reward. According to the sources, Pakistan purposely stood-down its armed forces to allow the U.S. raid, and the original plan was to kill—not capture—bin Laden. Hillhouse's sources stated that the Pakistanis had been keeping bin Laden under house arrest near their military headquarters in Abbottabad with money provided by the Saudis. According to The Telegraph, Hillhouse's account might explain why U.S. forces encountered no resistance on their way to and in Abbottabad, and why some residents in Abbottabad were warned to stay in their houses the day before the raid. Hillhouse later also said bin Laden's body had been thrown out of a helicopter over the Hindu Kush. Hillhouse's account was picked up and published internationally.

In May 2015, a detailed article in the London Review of Books by journalist Seymour Hersh said that the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had kept bin Laden under house arrest at Abbottabad since 2006, and that Pakistani Army chief Pervez Kayani and ISI director Ahmad Shuja Pasha aided the U.S. mission to kill, not capture bin Laden. According to Hersh, Pakistani officials were always aware of bin Laden's location and were guarding the compound with their own soldiers. Pakistan decided to give up bin Laden's location to the U.S. because American aid was declining. Pakistani officials were aware of the raid, and assisted the U.S. in carrying it out. According to Hersh, bin Laden was basically an invalid.

Hersh's U.S. and Pakistani intelligence sources stated that the U.S. had learned of bin Laden's location through a Pakistani walk-in seeking the $25 million reward, and not through tracking a courier. NBC News and Agence France-Presse subsequently reported that their sources indicated a walk-in was an extremely valuable asset, though the sources disputed that the walk-in knew the location of bin Laden. Pakistan-based journalist Amir Mir in the News International reported the walk-in's identity to be Usman Khalid, though that allegation was denied by Khalid's family.

Although similar in claims, both Hillhouse's and Hersh's accounts of the bin Laden death appeared to be based on different sources which The Intercept concluded might corroborate the claims if their identities were known. After the Hersh story broke, NBC News also independently reported that a Pakistani intelligence officer was the source of the original bin Laden location report, and not the courier.

The White House denied Hersh's report. A former intelligence official who had direct knowledge of the operation speculated that the Pakistanis, who were furious that the operation took place without being detected by them, were behind the conflicting story as a way to save face. Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid in The New York Review of Books finds the cooperation between the CIA and ISI that Hersh describes "inconceivable," in part because 2011 was "the worst year in U.S.-Pakistan relations since the late 1980s" and "hatred and mistrust" between the CIA and ISI was "acute"—something Hersh does not mention. Among the incidents that occurred in Pakistan in the months before the killing of bin Laden were the killing of two Pakistanis by CIA contractor Raymond Davis, numerous death threats against the Islamabad CIA station chief after his name was leaked (purportedly by the ISI), the cessation of the issuing of visas for U.S. officials (following which the U.S. consulate in Lahore was moved to Islamabad over concerns about security), increased U.S. anger over the refusal of Pakistan to exert pressure on the Taliban, the death of 40 Pakistanis including many civilians and later 24 Pakistani soldiers from U.S. drone strikes; and the cut-off of U.S. supplies to Afghanistan by Pakistan. Peter Bergen countered Hersh's claim that the shots fired at bin Laden were the only ones fired that evening would ignore that bin Laden's bodyguards were also shot and that the building had a multitude of bullet holes. He stated the U.S. government had intercepted the communications of Generals Kayani and Pasha, and their response had shown that neither had any knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts. Nelly Lahoud, who analyzed the documents seized during the operation to kill bin Laden, disagrees with Hersh's assertion that bin Laden was an ISI hostage. He stated that even a casual reading of the documents would make it abundantly clear that bin Laden went to great lengths to hide from Pakistani authorities, and it would be inconceivable that bin Laden himself did not know he was being held hostage.

Indian airspace controversy

In the publication No Easy Day, a map of the operation show the U.S. SEALs briefly crossed into Indian territory before its loop approaching Abbottabad in Pakistan, raising questions in India whether the U.S. violated Indian airspace, and if India had advance knowledge about the mission. The Indian Air Force dismissed claims that the U.S. crossed into Indian airspace.

Conspiracy theories

Main article: Osama bin Laden death conspiracy theories

The reports of bin Laden's death on May 2, 2011, are not universally accepted despite unreleased DNA testing confirming his identity, bin Laden's twelve-year-old daughter witnessing his death, and a May 6, 2011, al-Qaeda statement confirming his death. The swift burial of bin Laden's body at sea, the speed of the DNA results, and the decision not to release pictures of the dead body have led to the rise of conspiracy theories that bin Laden had not died in the raid. Some blogs suggested that the U.S. government feigned the raid, and some forums hosted debates over the alleged hoax.

Role of Pakistan

See also: Pakistan and Osama bin Laden

Pakistan came under intense international scrutiny after the raid. The Pakistani government denied that it had sheltered bin Laden, and said it had shared information with the CIA and other intelligence agencies about the compound since 2009.

Carlotta Gall, in her 2014 book The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan, 2001–2014, accuses the ISI, Pakistan's clandestine intelligence service, of hiding and protecting Osama bin Laden and his family after the September 11, 2001 attacks. She claims that she learned from a Pakistani official (with whom she later clarified that she did not speak, the information coming through a friend) that a senior U.S. official had told him that the United States had direct evidence that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, knew of bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad, but ISI, Pasha and officials in Washington all deny this: "C.I.A. and other Obama administration officials have said they possess no evidence—no intercepts, no unreleased documents from Abbottabad—that Kayani or Pasha or any other I.S.I. officer knew where bin Laden was hiding."

After the raid, there was an unconfirmed report that Pakistan allowed Chinese military officials to examine the wreckage of the crashed helicopter.

Connections with Abbottabad

View of Abbottabad, Pakistan (2011)

Abbottabad attracted refugees from fighting in the tribal areas and Swat Valley, as well as Afghanistan. "People don't really care now to ask who's there," said Gohar Ayub Khan, a former foreign minister and resident of the city. "That's one of the reasons why, possibly, he came in there."

The city was home to at least one al-Qaeda leader before bin Laden. Operational chief Abu Faraj al-Libi reportedly moved his family to Abbottabad in mid-2003. Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) raided the house in December 2003 but did not find him. This account was contradicted by American officials who said that satellite photos show that in 2004 the site was an empty field. A courier told interrogators that al-Libi used three houses in Abbottabad. Pakistani officials say they informed their American counterparts at the time that the city could be a hiding place for al-Qaeda leaders. In 2009 officials began providing the U.S. with intelligence about bin Laden's compound without knowing who lived there.

On January 25, 2011, ISI arrested Umar Patek, an Indonesian wanted in connection with the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, while he was staying with a family in Abbottabad. Tahir Shehzad, a clerk at the post office, was arrested on suspicion of facilitating travel for al-Qaeda militants.

Allegations against Pakistan

Numerous allegations were made that the government of Pakistan had shielded bin Laden. Critics cited the proximity of bin Laden's heavily fortified compound to the Pakistan Military Academy, that the U.S. chose to not notify Pakistani authorities before the operation, and the double standards of Pakistan regarding the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Leaked diplomatic cables disclosed that American diplomats had been told that Pakistani security services were tipping off bin Laden every time U.S. forces approached. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), also helped smuggle al-Qaeda militants into Afghanistan to fight NATO troops. According to the leaked files, in December 2009, the government of Tajikistan had also told U.S. officials that many in Pakistan were aware of bin Laden's whereabouts.

CIA chief Leon Panetta said the CIA had ruled out involving Pakistan in the operation, because it feared that "any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission. They might alert the targets." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that "cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound in which he was hiding." Obama echoed her sentiments. John O. Brennan, Obama's chief counterterrorism advisor, said that it was inconceivable that bin Laden did not have support from within Pakistan. He said: "People have been referring to this as hiding in plain sight. We are looking at how he was able to hide out there for so long."

The Indian Minister for Home Affairs, P. Chidambaram, said that bin Laden hiding "deep inside" Pakistan was a matter of grave concern for India, and showed that "many of the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks, including the controllers and the handlers of the terrorists who actually carried out the attack, continue to be sheltered in Pakistan." He called on Pakistan to arrest them.

Pakistani-born British member of parliament Khalid Mahmood said he was "flabbergasted and shocked" after he learned that bin Laden was living in a city with thousands of Pakistani troops, reviving questions about alleged links between al-Qaeda and elements in Pakistan's security forces.

On August 7, 2011, Raelynn Hillhouse, an American spy novelist and security analyst, posted "The Spy Who Billed Me" on her national security blog, suggesting that Pakistan's ISI had sheltered bin Laden in return for a $25 million bounty; ISI and government officials have denied her allegations.

Former Pakistani Army Chief, General Ziauddin Butt has said that, according to his knowledge, Osama bin Laden was kept in an Intelligence Bureau safe house in Abbottabad by the then Director-General of the Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan (2004–2008), Brigadier Ijaz Shah. This had occurred with the "full knowledge" of former army chief General Pervez Musharraf and possibly that of current Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. However the reporter who interviewed him, Riedel, noted that Butt had "a motive to speak harshly about Musharraf". Ziauddin Butt would later deny making these claims about Musharraf and Shah. Emails from the private American security firm, Stratfor, published by WikiLeaks on February 27, 2012, indicate that up to 12 officials in Pakistan's ISI knew of Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad safe house. Stratfor had been given access to the papers collected by American forces from bin Laden's Abbottabad house. The emails reveal that these Pakistani officers included "Mid to senior level ISI and Pak Mil with one retired Pak Mil General." In 2014, British journalist Carlotta Gall revealed that she had been told by an undisclosed ISI source that the ISI "ran a special desk assigned to handle bin Laden." The desk was "led by an officer who made his own decisions and did not report to a superior but the top military bosses knew about it, I was told."

According to Steve Coll, as of 2019 there is no direct evidence showing Pakistani knowledge of bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad, even by a rogue or compartmented faction within the government, other than the circumstantial fact of bin Laden's compound being located near (albeit not directly visible from) the Pakistan Military Academy. Documents captured from the Abbottabad compound generally show that bin Laden was wary of contact with Pakistani intelligence and police, especially in light of Pakistan's role in the arrest of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed; it has also been suggested that the $25 million U.S. reward for information leading to bin Laden would have been enticing to Pakistani officers given their reputation for corruption. The compound itself, although unusually tall, was less conspicuous than sometimes envisaged by Americans, given the common local habit of walling off homes for protection against violence or to ensure the privacy of female family members. Coll notes that a Pakistani Taliban cell had previously surveilled the army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi out of a nearby house for two months prior to a deadly October 2009 attack on the facility—without detection.

Pakistani response

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According to a Pakistani intelligence official, raw phone-tap data had been transferred to the U.S. without being analyzed by Pakistan. While the U.S. "was concentrating on this" information since September 2010, information regarding bin Laden and the compound's inhabitants had "slipped from" Pakistan's "radar" over the months. Bin Laden left "an invisible footprint" and he had not been contacting other militant networks. It was noted that much focus had been placed on a courier entering and leaving the compound. The transfer of intelligence to the U.S. was a regular occurrence according to the official, who also stated regarding the raid that "I think they came in undetected and went out the same day," and Pakistan did not believe that U.S. personnel were present in the area before the special operation occurred.

According to the Pakistani high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan had prior knowledge that an operation would happen. Pakistan was "in the know of certain things" and "what happened, happened with our consent. Americans got to know him—where he was first—and that's why they struck it and struck it precisely." Husain Haqqani, Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., had said that Pakistan would have pursued bin Laden had the intelligence of his location existed with them and Pakistan was "very glad that our American partners did. They had superior intelligence, superior technology, and we are grateful to them."

Another Pakistani official stated that Pakistan "assisted only in terms of authorization of the helicopter flights in our airspace" and the operation was conducted by the United States. He also said that "in any event, we did not want anything to do with such an operation in case something went wrong."

In June, the ISI arrested the owner of a safe house rented to the CIA to observe Osama bin Laden's compound and five CIA informants.

Mark Kelton, then the CIA station chief for Pakistan, alleges that he was poisoned by the ISI in retaliation for the raid, forcing him to leave the country.

Code name

See also: Code name Geronimo controversy

Several officials who were present in the Situation Room, including the president, told reporters that the code name for bin Laden was "Geronimo". They had watched Leon Panetta, speaking from CIA headquarters, while he narrated the action in Abbottabad. Panetta said, "We have a visual on Geronimo," and later, "Geronimo EKIA"—enemy killed in action. The words of the commander on the ground were, "For God and country, Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo." Officials subsequently explained that each step of the mission was labelled alphabetically in an "Execution Checklist," which is used to ensure all participants in a large operation are kept synchronized with a minimum of radio traffic. "Geronimo" indicated the raiders had reached step "G," the capture or killing of bin Laden. Osama bin Laden was identified as "Jackpot," the general code name for the target of an operation. ABC News reported that otherwise his regular code name was "Cakebread." The New Yorker reported that bin Laden's code name was "Crankshaft."

Many Native Americans were offended that Geronimo, the renowned 19th-century Apache leader, was irrevocably linked with bin Laden. The chairman of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, the successor to Geronimo's tribe, wrote a letter to Obama asking him to "right this wrong." The president of the Navajo Nation requested that the U.S. government change the code name retroactively. Officials from the National Congress of American Indians said the focus should be on honoring the disproportionately high number of Native Americans who serve in the military, and they had been assured that "Geronimo" was not a code name for bin Laden. The U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs heard testimony on the issue from tribal leaders, while the Defense Department had no comment except to say that no disrespect was intended.

Derivation of intelligence

After the death of bin Laden, some officials from the Bush administration, such as former Bush Office of Legal Counsel attorney John Yoo and former attorney general Michael Mukasey, wrote op-eds stating that the enhanced interrogation techniques they authorized (since legally clarified as torture) yielded the intelligence that later led to locating bin Laden's hideout. Mukasey said that the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed caused him to reveal the nickname of bin Laden's courier.

U.S. officials and legislators, including Republican John McCain and Democrat Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, countered that those statements were false. They noted that a report by CIA Director Leon Panetta stated that the first mention of the courier's nickname did not come from Mohammed, but rather from another government's interrogation of a suspect who they said they "believe was not tortured".

McCain called on Mukasey to retract his statements:

I have sought further information from the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and they confirm for me that, in fact, the best intelligence gained from a CIA detainee—information describing Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti's real role in Al-Qaeda and his true relationship to Osama bin Laden—was obtained through standard, non-coercive means, not through any 'enhanced interrogation technique.'

— John McCain

Panetta had written a letter to McCain on the issue, saying: "Some of the detainees who provided useful information about the facilitator/courier's role had been subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques. Whether those techniques were the 'only timely and effective way' to obtain such information is a matter of debate and cannot be established definitively." Although some information may have been obtained from detainees who were subjected to torture, Panetta wrote to McCain that:

We first learned about the facilitator/courier's nom de guerre from a detainee not in CIA custody in 2002. It is also important to note that some detainees who were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques attempted to provide false or misleading information about the facilitator/courier. These attempts to falsify the facilitator/courier's role were alerting. In the end, no detainee in CIA custody revealed the facilitator/courier's full true name or specific whereabouts. This information was discovered through other intelligence means.

In addition, other U.S. officials state that shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, detainees in CIA secret prisons told interrogators about the courier's pseudonym "al-Kuwaiti" and that when Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was later captured, he only confirmed the courier's pseudonym. After Abu Faraj al-Libbi was captured, he provided false or misleading information: he denied that he knew al-Kuwaiti and he made up another name instead. Also, a group of interrogators asserted that the courier's nickname was not divulged "during torture, but rather several months later, when were questioned by interrogators who did not use abusive techniques."

Intelligence postmortem

Evidence seized from the compound is said to include ten cell phones, five to ten computers, twelve hard drives, at least 100 computer disks (including thumb drives and DVDs), handwritten notes, documents, weapons, and an assortment of personal items. It was described by a senior Pentagon intelligence official as "the single largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever." On November 1, 2017, the CIA released to the public approximately 470,000 files and a copy of bin Laden's diary.

Intelligence analysts also studied call detail records from two phone numbers that were found to be sewn into bin Laden's clothing. They helped over the course of several months to apprehend several al-Qaeda members in several countries and to kill several of bin Laden's closest associates by CIA drone attacks in Pakistan.

The material gathered at the compound was stored at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, where forensic experts analyzed fingerprints, DNA, and other trace evidence left on the material. Copies of the material were provided to other agencies; officials want to preserve a chain of custody in case any of the information is needed as evidence in a future trial.

A special CIA team has been given the responsibility of combing through the digital material and documents removed from the bin Laden compound. The CIA team is working in collaboration with other U.S. government agencies "to triage, catalog and analyze this intelligence."

Bin Laden's youngest wife told Pakistani investigators that the family lived in the feudal village of Chak Shah Muhammad, in the nearby district of Haripur, Pakistan, for two and a half years before moving to Abbottabad in late 2005.

The material seized from the compound contained al-Qaeda's strategy for Afghanistan after America's withdrawal from the country in 2014, as well as thousands of electronic memos and missives that captured conversations between bin Laden and his deputies around the world. It showed that bin Laden stayed in touch with al-Qaeda's established affiliates and sought new alliances with groups such as Boko Haram from Nigeria. According to the material, he sought to reassert control over factions of loosely affiliated jihadists from Yemen to Somalia, as well as independent actors whom he believed had sullied al-Qaeda's reputation and muddied its central message. Bin Laden was worried at times about his personal security and was annoyed that his organization had not utilized the Arab Spring to improve its image. He acted, according to The Washington Post, on the one hand as "chief executive fully engaged in the group's myriad crises, grappling with financial problems, recruitment, rebellious field managers, and sudden staff vacancies resulting from the unrelenting U.S. drone campaign," and on the other hand as "a hands-on manager who participated in the terrorist group's operational planning and strategic thinking while also giving orders and advice to field operatives scattered worldwide." The material also described Osama bin Laden's relation with Ayman al-Zawahiri and Atiyah Abd al-Rahman.

Seventeen documents seized during the Abbottabad raid, consisting of electronic letters or draft letters dating from September 2006 to April 2011, were released by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point one year and one day after bin Laden's death. and made available at The Washington Post homepage. The documents covered subjects such as the news media in America, affiliate organization, targets, America, security, and the Arab Spring. In the documents, bin Laden said al-Qaeda's strength was limited and therefore suggested that the best way to attack the U.S., which he compared to a tree, "is to concentrate on sawing the trunk." He refused the promotion of Anwar al-Awlaki when this was requested by Nasir al-Wuhayshi, leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. "We here become reassured of the people when they go to the line and get examined there," bin Laden said. He told al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to expand operations in the U.S. in the wake of the 2009 Christmas Day bomb plot by writing "We need to extend and develop our operations in America and not keep it limited to blowing up airplanes."

The seized material shed light on al-Qaeda's relationship with Iran, which detained jihadis and their relatives in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, including members of bin Laden's family. Al-Qaeda's relationship with Iran was, according to the Combating Terrorism Center, an "unpleasant byproduct of necessity, fueled by mutual distrust and antagonism." An explicit reference to any institutional support from Pakistan for al-Qaeda wasn't mentioned in the documents; instead, bin Laden instructed his family members how to avoid detection so that members of Pakistani intelligence couldn't track them to find him. According to the seized material, former commander of the international forces in Afghanistan David Petraeus and US President Barack Obama should be assassinated during any of their visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan, if there was an opportunity to do so. Bin Laden opined that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden should not be a target because "Biden is totally unprepared for that post , which will lead the US into a crisis." Bin Laden was also against one-person suicide attacks and was of the opinion that at least two persons should undertake these attacks instead. He planned to reform in a way so that al-Qaeda's central leadership would have a greater say in the naming of the al-Qaeda branch leaders and their deputies. He expressed his opinion that killing Muslims has weakened his organization and not helped al-Qaeda, writing that it "cost the mujahedeen no small amount of sympathy among Muslims. The enemy has exploited the mistakes of the mujahedeen to mar their image among the masses."

The United States Department of Justice released a further eleven documents in March 2015. The documents were part of the trial against Abid Naseer, who was convicted of plotting to bomb a Manchester shopping mall in 2009. They included letters to and from Osama bin Laden in the year before his death, and showed the extent of the damage the CIA drone program had done to Al-Qaeda.

In addition to information and data recovered that were of intelligence interest, the documents and computer items also contained personal files, including family correspondence and a large stash of pornography. US officials have refused to characterize the type of pornography found other than to say that it was "modern" in nature. The most likely explanation for the pornography on bin Laden's hard drive is that he bought a poorly refurbished computer since bin Laden did not have internet access and the computer was also infected with viruses.

Helicopter stealth technology revelations

The tail section of the secret helicopter survived demolition and lay just outside the compound wall. Pakistani security forces put up a cloth barrier at first light to hide the wreckage. Later, a tractor hauled it away hidden under a tarp. Journalists obtained photographs that revealed the previously undisclosed stealth technology. Aviation Week said the helicopter appeared to be a significantly modified MH-60 Black Hawk. Serial numbers found at the scene were consistent with an MH-60 built in 2009. Its performance during the operation confirmed that a stealth helicopter could evade detection in a militarily sensitive, densely populated area. Photos showed that the Black Hawk's tail had stealth-configured shapes on the boom and the fairings, swept stabilizers and a "hubcap" over the noise-reducing five- or six-blade tail rotor. It appeared to have a silver-loaded infrared suppression finish similar to some V-22 Ospreys. The crash of the Black Hawk may have been, at least in part, caused by the aerodynamic deficiencies introduced to the airframe by the stealth technology add-ons (an unrelated possible cause of the crash was that the rehearsal mock-ups of the compound had used a chain-link fence rather than a solid wall for the perimeter and thus had not reproduced the airflows that the helicopter would face).

The U.S. requested return of the wreckage and the Chinese government also expressed interest, according to Pakistani officials. Pakistan had custody of the wreckage for over two weeks before its return was secured by U.S. Senator John Kerry. Experts disagreed as to how much information could have been gleaned from the tail fragment. Stealth technology was already operational on several fixed-wing aircraft and the cancelled RAH-66 Comanche helicopter; the modified Black Hawk was the first confirmed operational "stealth helicopter." It is likely that the most valuable information obtainable from the wreckage was the composition of the radar-absorbing paint used on the tail section. Local children were seen picking up pieces of the wreckage and selling them as souvenirs. In August 2011, Fox News reported that Pakistan had allowed Chinese scientists to examine the helicopter's tail section and were especially interested in its radar-absorbing paint. Pakistan and the PRC denied these claims.

Previous attempts to capture or kill bin Laden

See also: Battle of Tora Bora and Location of Osama bin Laden
Air strikes on Tora Bora in 2001
  • February 1994: A team of Libyans attacked bin Laden's home in Sudan. The CIA investigated and reported that they had been hired by Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia accused them of lying to make bin Laden more amenable to Sudanese interests.
  • August 20, 1998: In Operation Infinite Reach, the U.S. Navy launched 66 cruise missiles at a suspected al-Qaeda training camp outside Khost, Afghanistan, where bin Laden was expected to be. Reports said that 30 people may have been killed.
  • 2000: Foreign operatives working on behalf of the CIA fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a convoy of vehicles in which bin Laden was traveling through the mountains of Afghanistan, hitting one of the vehicles but not the one in which bin Laden was riding.
  • December 2001: During the opening stages of the war in Afghanistan launched following the September 11 attacks, the U.S. and its allies believed that bin Laden was hiding in the rugged mountains at Tora Bora. Despite overrunning the Taliban and al-Qaeda positions, they failed to capture or kill him.

See also

Notes

  1. At the time of the raid, it was early morning of May 2 in Pakistan and late afternoon of May 1 in the United States.
  2. A National Geographic documentary in September 2020, titled "Bin Laden's Hard Drive", mentioned that Osama bin Laden may have communicated with his associates through secret messages encoded in porn videos.

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