News - Osama Bin Laden - killed In Pakistan

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 04 May 2011 08:07

Xinhua's headline...

Pakistan military groups pray for bin Laden

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 04 May 2011 08:27

From /.
Seems that Wikileaks leaked out a bunch of documents last week, where there is a document from 2008 naming one of the couriers. This might have forced the US to accelerate their plan and attack over the weekend.

The section in question is here

Link to the slashdot article
Link to original Guardian article

anishns · Post by **anishns** » 04 May 2011 08:37

SwamyG do u have a link for that??

SwamyG wrote:Jon Stewart mocking Pakistan, ISI, Musharaaf ityadi ; he is poking as many holes as possible in Paki parachute. He reaches more young people than probably only Cartoon Network.

Checkout this old video @18 secs....the compere clearly saying "Holding Bin Laden in his(Mushrador) country, though!" or maybe I am hearing things...
Then why are the Yanks shocked now???

And later...."You are a victim of Al Qaeda...2 assassination attempts on your life.....both on the same bridge though!

"

sourab_c · Post by **sourab_c** » 04 May 2011 08:38

I wonder where Brzezinski is hiding these days. It would be very interesting to know his view points regarding these developments.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 04 May 2011 08:41

Bin Laden's neighbors noticed unusual things

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110503/ap_ ... ighborhood

When a woman involved in a polio vaccine drive turned up at Osama bin Laden's hideaway, she remarked to the men behind the high walls about the expensive SUVs parked inside. The men took the vaccine, apparently to administer to the 23 children at the compound, and told her to go away.

The terror chief and his family kept well hidden behind thick walls in this northwestern hill town they shared with thousands of Pakistani soldiers. But glimpses of their life are emerging — along with deep skepticism that authorities didn't know they were there.

Although the house is large, it was unclear how three dozen people could have lived there with any degree of comfort.
Neighbors said they knew little about those inside in the compound but bin Laden apparently depended on two men who would routinely emerge to run errands or to a neighborhood gathering, such as a funeral. There were conflicting details about the men's identities. Several people said they were known as Tariq and Arshad Khan and had identified themselves as cousins from elsewhere in northwestern Pakistan. Others gave different names and believed they were brothers.
Arshad was the oldest, and both spoke multiple languages, including Pashto and Urdu, which are common here, residents said.

As Navy SEALs swept through the compound early Monday, they handcuffed those they encountered with plastic zip ties and pressed on in pursuit of bin Laden. After killing the terror leader, his son and two others, they doubled back to move nine women and 23 children away from the compound, according to U.S. officials.

...

Construction of the three-story house began about seven years ago, locals said. People initially were curious about the heavily fortified compound — which had walls as high as 18 feet topped with barbed wire — but over time they just grew to believe the family inside was deeply religious and conservative.
The Pakistani government also pushed back at suggestions that security forces were sheltering bin Laden or failed to spot suspicious signs.

"It needs to be appreciated that many houses (in the northwest) have high boundary walls, in line with their culture of privacy and security," the government said. "Houses with such layout and structural details are not a rarity."

...

Those who live nearby said the people in bin Laden's compound rarely strayed outside. Most were unaware that foreigners — bin Laden and his family are Arabs — were living there.
Khurshid Bibi, in her 70s, said one man living in the compound had given her a lift to the market in the rain. She said her grandchildren played with the kids in the house and that the adults there gave them rabbits as a gift.
But the occupants also attracted criticism.

"People were skeptical in this neighborhood about this place and these guys. They used to gossip, say they were smugglers or drug dealers. People would complain that even with such a big house they didn't invite the poor or distribute charity," said Mashood Khan, a 45-year-old farmer.

Questions persisted about how authorities could not have known who was living in the compound, especially since it was close to a prestigious military academy.

As in other Pakistani towns, hotels in Abbottabad are supposed to report the presence of foreigners to the police, as are estate agents. Abbottabad police chief Mohammed Naeem said the police followed the procedures but "human error cannot be avoided."

Reporters were allowed to get as far as the walls of the compound for the first time, but the doors were sealed shut and police were in no mood to open them. Neighbors showed off small parts of what appeared to be a U.S. helicopter that malfunctioned and was disabled by the American strike team as it retreated. A small servant's room outside the perimeter showed signs of violent entry and a brisk search. Clothes and bedding had been tossed aside. A wall clock was on the floor, the time stuck at 2:20.

...

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 04 May 2011 08:41

India had twice told US about Osama's likely presence close to Islamabad

The first time Indian security agencies gave this information to the US authorities was in mid-2007, soon after a Taliban meeting in Peshawar which was attended by Osamas No.2 Ayman al-Zawahiri. According to the information gathered by Indian intelligence operatives, this meeting was also attended by top leaders of Haqqani network and at least two ISI officials.

In the next six months, Indian operatives every now and then came up with information about movement of Osamas confidants in the region. The next definite input passed on to the US agencies by Indian officials was in early 2008 when there was specific mention made of his illness and his likely presence in a cantonment area. "This time we specifically mentioned about his presence in a cantonment area. It was because we had definite information that his movement was restricted owing to his illness and that it would have been impossible for him to go to an ordinary hospital. We told the Americans that only in a cantonment area could he be looked after by his ISI or other Pakistani benefactors," said the official.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 04 May 2011 08:44

Some other fotus

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 May 2011 08:49

A big question is why didn't US feel they needn't get OBL in 2001? They let him escape to TSP an gave ~$2B subsidy/dole to keep him. TSP can pretend to corral him.

Now suddenly in 2011 they decide that they have to get him dead than alive.

--------

Shiv, As was speculated early in this thread India did provide info on OBL to US. But wont be acknowledged.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 04 May 2011 08:55

Anantha wrote:Times Now: Osama's youngest wife with was a doctor- a strategic move so that his medical issues had good attention.

OBL's house was 100 yards from a Pak army Major who works for Pak Army Medical corps.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 78576.html

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 04 May 2011 08:59

From Lisa Curtis

U.S. security aid to Pakistan already is conditioned under Section 203 of the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009. According to the law, the U.S. Secretary of State must certify to Congress that Pakistan has "demonstrated sustained commitment to and is making significant efforts towards combating terrorist groups" consistent with the purposes of U.S. assistance. On March 18, 2011, Hillary Clinton certified that Pakistan met these benchmarks for fiscal year 2010.

Manny · Post by **Manny** » 04 May 2011 08:59

SwamyG wrote:
saket wrote:****Must Read Jack Nicholson's response to pakistan (from a comment in WSJ by Kurt McFarlane)
It is a rip-off of Jack Nicholson's dialog from the movie "A Few Good Men": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104257/quotes

Its not a rip off..its called Satire.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 04 May 2011 09:00

ramana wrote:A big question is why didn't US feel they needn't get OBL in 2001? They let him escape to TSP an gave ~$2B subsidy/dole to keep him. TSP can pretend to corral him.

Now suddenly in 2011 they decide that they have to get him dead than alive.

Philip's take on this via email link
Robert Fisk: Was he betrayed? Of course. Pakistan knew Bin Laden's hiding place all along

But talking of caves, Bin Laden's demise does bring Pakistan into grim focus. For months, President Ali Zardari has been telling us that Bin Laden was living in a cave in Afghanistan. Now it turns out he was living in a mansion in Pakistan. Betrayed? Of course he was. By the Pakistan military or the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence? Quite possibly both. Pakistan knew where he was.

Not only was Abbottabad the home of the country's military college – the town was founded by Major James Abbott of the British Army in 1853 – but it is headquarters of Pakistan's Northern Army Corps' 2nd Division. Scarcely a year ago, I sought an interview with another "most wanted man" – the leader of the group believed responsible for the Mumbai massacres. I found him in the Pakistani city of Lahore – guarded by uniformed Pakistani policemen holding machine guns.

anishns · Post by **anishns** » 04 May 2011 09:02

Has this been posted?

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/0 ... tml?hpt=C2

Lot of Congressmen interviews on Paki funding!

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 04 May 2011 09:20

Rapist goon traitors' advisor has spoken....exactly as predicted (not in yellow daily but in another Southern daily)

Credits capture to a 'joint operation' and expects Kayani to be rewarded...exactly as predicted. After all once Xinhua has given the direction, can Beijing puppet rats speak otherwise?

But the rest of the article is a lament about how Unkil is now free to pursue his plan and how Iran is target and other sorts of rona dhona...which suggests Beijing is caught by surprise and is not pleased with the turn of events..and its puppets are either crying or mourning...

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 04 May 2011 09:24

latest from S3 - May04,2011

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF OSAMA BIN LADEN -Pakistan has a price to pay By Syed Saleem Shahzad

ISLAMABAD - United States officials modified their narrative on Osama bin Laden's killing on Monday in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad to protect Pakistan's broader interests against threats from militants, saying that the Pakistanis had little involvement.

Before Bin Laden's killing, hardly 10% of pro-Taliban militants were fighting against Pakistan. That is, 90% disagreed with Pakistan's policy of aligning with the US in the "war on terror", but they chose to keep their focus on fighting foreign forces in Afghanistan. Bin Laden's death has invited the wrath of all groups.
For example, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP - Pakistan Taliban), immediately announced it would avenge his death and declared Pakistan the number one enemy and the US as number two. On Monday evening, a suicide attack was carried out against police in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province, in which Abbottabad is located. The TTP claimed responsibility

In essence, by 2011 al-Qaeda had turned into a kind of hornet's nest capable of opening war fronts in different places at the same time, or focusing its energies on a single front. Bin Laden's killing has frozen all previous plans and according to sources in North Waziristan, schemes have morphed into two parts: immediate reaction against Pakistan and a long-term scheme against the West and India.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 04 May 2011 09:29

anishns wrote:
Checkout this old video @18 secs....the compere clearly saying "Holding Bin Laden in his(Mushrador) country, though!" or maybe I am hearing things...
Then why are the Yanks shocked now???

And later...."You are a victim of Al Qaeda...2 assassination attempts on your life.....both on the same bridge though! "

Jon Stewart played that clip today..he blasted Mush for lying to him and said that he (JS) served him 40 year old twinkies to him in the show

(You can see the food, and that was Ramadan too!)

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 04 May 2011 09:40

Kuwait City: Al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden did not want his children to join the terrorist organisation, the Kuwait-based Al-Anbaa newspaper said citing his last will and testament.

In a four-page document dated Dec 14, 2001, written on a computer and signed 'Your Brother Abu Abdullah Osama Muhammad Bin Laden,' the late Al Qaeda leader predicted he would be killed as a result of a 'betrayal' and ordered his wives to not remarry.

http://www.sify.com/news/will-of-osama- ... aafah.html

Ravi Karumanchiri · Post by **Ravi Karumanchiri** » 04 May 2011 09:48

^^^ I don't believe the demise of OBL results from any kind of betrayal from any kind of Pakistani. They get no credit, in my book.

I think the Americans figured it out, by following the leads generated through the interrogation of captured jihadis, and also by what is essentially a profiling exercise -- profiling of locations, that is, using every means of intelligence gathering available to them -- and this eventually lead them to the compound in Abbottabad. This is the official line, from the Americans, and (although I am frequently sceptical of what they say) I am inclined to believe this.

I remember reading some years ago, that Peter Bergen or some other journalist had spent a number of days as OBL's guest, before 9/11, and maybe even during the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan; and this journo wrote how bin Laden, a billionaire, lived just like the other rag-tag fighters, and was very humble and unassuming; except that he indulged one extravagance. Every day, for his main meal, he would have a suckling lamb prepared, often deep fried. I thought at the time, that this fixed habit could eventually lead to his capture, because habits are a killer when you’re a fugitive, and because deep-frying a lamb is going to have a logistical trail, and is also going to generate a significant IR signature……

Now I’ve just read, in one of the links I found in this thread, that the neighbours of bin Laden’s house in Abbottabad; never saw anyone leaving that compound, not for any festival or even Eid; except for those two nice birathers who turned out to be OBL’s couriers. These neighbours did notice, however, that every day, a red pickup truck would deliver a live lamb, probably for dinner.

That’s just the kind of thing you’d see from satellite. Picture it, a little white lamb, riding in the back of a red pickup truck. This, plus all of the other truly suspicious facts about this particular residence, and it all adds up to OBL, wearing his jammies, cowering behind one of his young wives, as a USN Seal levels his weapon.

OBL~BIH (Burn in Hell!)

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 04 May 2011 10:18

ramana wrote:A big question is why didn't US feel they needn't get OBL in 2001? They let him escape to TSP an gave ~$2B subsidy/dole to keep him. TSP can pretend to corral him.

Now suddenly in 2011 they decide that they have to get him dead than alive.

--------

Shiv, As was speculated early in this thread India did provide info on OBL to US. But wont be acknowledged.

OBL is not just a person but they created a movement around him giving him international publicity to rouse the Islamic radicals world wide including Indian muslims. This hardcore radicalization was used as a anti american movement after 911 to keep the WOT running. Most of the muslims inclined for radical thought fell for it and joined it everywhere.

India was a experiment to see how Indian Hindus and govt react to it. Idea is to create counter radical/militant force to create a clash and eventual war in the region. They tried mumbai attack but no luck. Hence now they have wind down the movement by removing OBL

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 May 2011 10:19

well Indians dont care and all this falls apart.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 04 May 2011 10:27

Discussion on Osama bin Laden's death with David Ignatius of The Washington Post, Steve Coll of The New America Foundation and via Istanbul Dexter Filkins of The New York Times (Video)

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11656

Kati · Post by **Kati** » 04 May 2011 11:04

a must read....

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110504/j ... 936650.jsp

things may not be that dull for Pak

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 04 May 2011 11:17

sounds like a hack job apology to favour the old PA-US alliance.

no country in the world has 24x7 treetop radar coverage on all its border..sher khan included. a light a/c could easily fly from canada into say maine , remaining below ATC radar floor and go away again without anyone knowing.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 04 May 2011 11:18

ArmenT wrote:From /.
Seems that Wikileaks leaked out a bunch of documents last week, where there is a document from 2008 naming one of the couriers. This might have forced the US to accelerate their plan and attack over the weekend.

Ah....

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 4#p1082984

Folks, the ONLY new development in the whole saga is that US has decided to move in even at expense of Pakistan's remaining rag-tag izzat (Izzat onleee in US of A).

Everyone of note already knew what has to be known. The Pakis knew, the US knew, the Saudi's knew the Indians knew, they all knew that everyone else knows. Some knew more fine grained details than others, but most knew sufficient details.

So why the precipitate move NOW? Elections? CIA-ISI fallout? Wikileaks coming up with his precise location being the site for a Mike Mullen/Mullah Omar meeting?

Shiv wrote: India had twice told US about Osama's likely presence close to Islamabad

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 156230.cms

Let discuss the importance of the timing folks.

ramana wrote: A big question is why didn't US feel they needn't get OBL in 2001? They let him escape to TSP an gave ~$2B subsidy/dole to keep him. TSP can pretend to corral him.

Now suddenly in 2011 they decide that they have to get him dead than alive.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 04 May 2011 11:23

is mullah omar really important to the afghani taliban ? seems to have gone stealth from the radar for years.
no videos from ayman al zawahiri either....will be formally step up into CEO role now?

UBanerjee · Post by **UBanerjee** » 04 May 2011 11:26

Ravi Karumanchiri wrote:^^^ I don't believe the demise of OBL results from any kind of betrayal from any kind of Pakistani. They get no credit, in my book.

Well, it's Robert Fisk. So I'm not surprised at the spin.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 04 May 2011 11:35

What happened to Mullah Omar after the ISI took him to a hospital for a coronary stent placement?

He was being hidden in Karachi, suffered a heart attack a few months ago.
This was widely reported by the media in India citing indian intel.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 04 May 2011 11:42

saket wrote:****Must Read Jack Nicholson's response to pakistan (from a comment in WSJ by Kurt McFarlane)

Pakistan, terrorists live in mansions surrounded by walls, and those walls have to be scaled by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You weep for your sovereignty and you curse the SEALs. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what we know: that the death of your sovereignty, while tragic, probably saved lives. And our existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives! You don't want the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want the SEALs scaling that wall! You need them on that wall! We have neither the time nor the inclination to explain ourselves to a country that rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that we provide, and then questions the manner in which we provide it! We’d rather you just said "Thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, we suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post or ,better yet, get an intelligence agency that isn’t working against us. Either way, we don't give a da_mn what you think you are entitled to!

Saket, That's from A Few Good Men

Here's the original. Col Jessep being grilled by Kaffee

Col. Jessep: Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, L~~t. Weinburg~~ Gen Kiya-hai-ni? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for ~~Santiago~~ Osmama, and you curse the ~~marines~~ SEALs. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That ~~Santiago's~~ Osmama's death, ~~while tragic~~ while comic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them ~~as a punchline~~ for getting GUBOed by US. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket ~~of the very freedom~~ from the money that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a ~~weapon~~ Vaseline box, and stand ~~a post~~ GUBOed. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 04 May 2011 11:55

Airavat wrote:
Manny wrote:Its a military cantonment/Garrison city. What Pakistan is saying is, an Indian agent could have come here to our military cantonment and built this place up and made himself a listening post and we wouldn't have known or checked that new high wall compound and that has this high wire fencing out.
Plenty of documentation is required for constructing any kind of house, not to mention such a huge mansion:

Allotment letter
Possession order
Site Plan and sub-divided site plan
All paid utility bills and challans
Approval and completion of the building plan
Completion certificate
Transfer/Mutation Order
Power of Attorney, duly executed in the office of the Sub-registrar concerned.

And how about all the regulations and building permits required for the high walls and barbed wire. Who authorised all that?

Airavat, It is an ISI safe house. Pure and simple. Pakis were harboring Osmama.

They would have done all that from the Cantt Estate Office. The area is well within the Cantt limit, I read somewhere. All Retd Pakis Army Terrorist Officers live. In fact one of the flicker photo, first spotted by Gagan, you will see a photo which says "near Uncle Kiani house'.Amazing.

SOme members have commented on power suply.Here's my take.

This house had multiple electrical connections and would have its own genset. So no need for cutting power etc. SEALs don't need that with their equipment NVG, laser sighting Guns and what not.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 04 May 2011 12:09

ManuT wrote:Just providing link (for my earlier post)

Earlier, an ISI official told the BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones in Islamabad that the agency raided the compound in Abbottabad, just 100km (62 miles) from the capital, when it was under construction. It was believed an al-Qaeda operative, Abu Faraj al-Libi, was there.

But since then, "the compound was not on our radar, it is an embarrassment for the ISI", the official said. "We're good, but we're not God."

[/quote]

They are Liars, First Class.

Incestuous Stupid Idiot , what we know as ISI otherwise.

UBanerjee · Post by **UBanerjee** » 04 May 2011 12:13

According to some random show "Red Eye" on Fox News right now:
Osama wouldn't return kid's soccer balls

Also everyone in this show is talking about how ridiculously obvious it is that ISI is sheltering Bin Laden, its really great to see that despite some official efforts at soft pedaling, this is a really popular meme (that is not dying down) among even the mango GI Joe crowd that normally couldn't give a flying donkey's behind about the finer details of US allegiances.

Words like "military headquarters", "$1 million compound", "fortress city", "8 times larger" won't stop circulating. One of the panelists directly mocked Zardari's

op-ed piece.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 04 May 2011 12:14

^^^^

He told the BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones in Islamabad that the compound in Abbottabad, just 100km (62 miles) from the capital, was raided when under construction in 2003.

This is the compound in 2004

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 04 May 2011 12:16

too much goat meat isnt good for health. eating a small roast lamb *every day* like OBL did is guaranteed heart trouble unless a person leads a very physical and active life which OBL and mulla omar cannot.

for some reason these 'caliphs' do not seem to prefer healthier alternatives like fish and chicken . its always goats, sheep and sometimes camel and beef.

does the Amu Darya river in afghanistan have fish or did backflow from USSR pollution of the caspian basin kill them all? do afghans have fish in diet ?

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 04 May 2011 12:32

They've been on his trail. Multiple intel agencies (ISI, CIA & KSA GID) reported his trips to see hekmatyar and other warlords.

DG ISI told SSS about pak involvement in the operation. But I don't believe him or the US. Both events don't add up and in fact they are further cocking up the story.

James B · Post by **James B** » 04 May 2011 13:05

Can someone in US, download this video of PBS Frontline program and upload on rapidshare/ifile etc as it is not viewable outside of US.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline ... ce=toparea

TIA

sum · Post by **sum** » 04 May 2011 13:10

shyamd wrote:They've been on his trail. Multiple intel agencies (ISI, CIA & KSA GID) reported his trips to see hekmatyar and other warlords.

Really, the ISI on the trail of Osama when it was setting the trail for him?

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 04 May 2011 13:36

>> They've been on his trail. Multiple intel agencies (ISI, CIA & KSA GID) reported his trips to see hekmatyar and other warlords.

ISI was 'on his trail' when laden was living in their safe house next door to PMA kakul ?

sounds like BS to me.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 04 May 2011 13:51

AFAIK there has been no voices of suspicion from Iran so far. I remember that there was a discussion in BRF many moons ago about Iran funding AQ, despite the differing ideological affinities, about Iran using AQ as a proxy in Af-Pak to exploit divisions between the Iranian ethnicities and the Turkic and Turkomen ethnicities.

So basically US forcing Taliban hand now to relinquish AQ (which was the tip of the spear all these years) becomes another zero-sum game with OBL gone.

Another interpretation is that sher-khan is trying to drive a wedge between Iran and hinterland Russia (CA, Turkic peoples) by trying to curry favour with the Turkic people, the first step being OBL's execution.

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 04 May 2011 13:51

White House split over release of gruesome pictures of Bin Laden's mangled corpse

The post contains pictures of seamen enjoying their leisure time at high oceans.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 04 May 2011 14:00

nuggets from dailymail.co.uk:
============================

The operation - code named 'Geronimo' - was watched by the President in real time from the helmet mounted camera of an elite Navy SEAL commando.

Although President Obama saw the terror chief killed by a single bullet to the head, it was only when he received the signal 'Geronino E-KIA' - which stands for 'Enemy Killed In Action'- that he knew Bin Laden was dead.

It is understood Bin Laden, code named 'Jackpot', was unarmed but did 'resist'.

It had previously been claimed the terror chief also used a woman thought to be his wife as a human shield - but this has now been retracted by officials.

According to reports Bin Laden's 12-year-old daughter was present when U.S. forces shot and killed her father.

Obama had earlier ruled out killing the terrorist with two air dropped bombs and an as yet undisclosed third option, in favour of the more risky raid which would provide DNA and bodily evidence Osama was dead.

The SEAL team also used a facial recognition system to positively identify the body of Bin Laden.

The commander of the operation took a digital image of Bin Laden's remains and fed them back to the CIA, where a facial recognition system confirmed the identity.

Bin Laden's widow, 27-year-old Amal Al-Sadah, who was shot in the leg, also helped to identify the body.