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Usama Bin Laden Killed in Firefight With U.S. Special Ops Team in Pakistan
foxnews.com -  5/2/2011

Declaring “justice has been done,” President Obama announced late Sunday that Usama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan, marking the end of the worldwide manhunt that began nearly a decade ago on Sept. 11, 2001.

The president made the stunning announcement within hours of informing congressional leaders. He said bin Laden was killed Sunday, the culmination of years of intelligence gathering. The news drew a large crowd to the front of the White House, as well as in Times Square, as people chanted “U-S-A. U-S-A.”

Obama, in his address to the nation shortly before midnight, thanked the Americans who have toiled in pursuit of bin Laden and applauded those who carried out the successful mission in Pakistan. Describing that mission only briefly, he said its result “is a testament to the greatness of our country.”

“For over two decades, bin Laden has been Al Qaeda’s leader and symbol,” Obama said. “The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat Al Qaeda.”

The president traced the death of bin Laden to a tip received last August. He said he was briefed at the time on the “possible lead,” and that after months of intelligence work it was determined bin Laden was hiding in a compound “deep” inside Pakistan. Obama said, after determining the intelligence was sound, he authorized the operation to bring him to justice last week.

Usama bin Laden, the Saudi Arabian–born leader of Al Qaeda is widely known as the most dangerous terrorist on the planet, has been killed by a team of U.S. Navy SEALS at a compound in Pakistan.
He said a “small team” of Americans went after bin Laden in Abbottabad on Sunday. “After a firefight, they killed Usama bin Laden and took custody of his body,” the president said.

Senior administration officials, in a briefing with reporters, afterward said the administration had determined by February that they would pursue the compound "custom built to hide someone of significance" in Pakistan. This decision led to a series of national security meetings starting in March to develop a course of action. Obama gave the final order to pursue the operation on April 29, officials said.

The house was 100 yards from the gate of the Kakul Military Academy, an army-run institution where top officers train. A Pakistan intelligence official said the property where bin Laden was staying was 3,000 square feet.

At 3:30 p.m. EST, a 40-man Navy Seals squadron raided a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, killing the Al Qaeda leader with a bullet to the head.

Four Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters dropped 24 men on the compound. One helicopter suffered a "hard landing" inside the compound after experiencing a mechanical failure and had to be destroyed on the site, according to one defense official.

There was a large shootout. The residents at the compound resisted. The total raid took 40 minutes.

No Americans were killed in the mission Sunday. Officials said three adult men other than bin Laden were killed – one was believed to be bin Laden’s son, the others couriers. One woman was killed when she was used as a human shield and two other women were also injured, the officials said.

Abbottabad resident Mohammad Haroon Rasheed said the raid happened about 1:15 a.m. local time.

"I heard a thundering sound, followed by heavy firing. Then firing suddenly stopped. Then more thundering, then a big blast," he said. "In the morning when we went out to see what happened, some helicopter wreckage was lying in an open field."

"Intelligence analysts concluded that this compound was custom-built to hide someone of significance," he said.

In the wake of bin Laden’s death, authorities around the world are being urged to take security precautions. One source said officials are concerned bin Laden’s death could incite violence or terrorist acts against U.S. personnel overseas.

The State Department issued a travel alert for U.S. citizens abroad overnight, citing “the enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counter-terrorism activity in Pakistan.”

Obama said Americans must continue to be “vigilant.” But he said the death of the architect of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil should be welcomed around the world.

“Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims,” Obama said. “So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.”

Sources said the vice president informed congressional leaders late Sunday night that the world’s most wanted man had been killed.

Officials said bin Laden’s body, which was in U.S. custody, was given a sea burial.

The announcement comes nearly a decade after the 2001 terror attacks that triggered the Afghanistan war and started a tireless hunt for the terrorist mastermind and Al Qaeda leader.

In recent years, that hunt had increasingly led U.S. intelligence across the border and into Pakistan, where Al Qaeda is thought to be concentrated.

Hamas condemns killing of 'holy warrior' bin Laden
jpost.com

Gaza leadership condemns killing of al Qaida head and "shedding of Muslim blood"; in different tone, PA says death will promote peace.

RAMALLAH/GAZA - Hamas on Monday deplored the killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces, while its prospective power-sharing partner, the Palestinian Authority, issued a statement welcoming the al Qaida-leader's death.

Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas in the Gaza Strip, called bin Laden a martyr.

"We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior," Haniyeh told reporters. "We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood."

"Getting rid of bin Laden is good for the cause of peace worldwide but what counts is to overcome the discourse and the methods -- the violent methods -- that were created and encouraged by bin Laden and others in the world," Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib said.

Hamas is due to sign a unity deal this week in Cairo with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's more secular Fatah movement.

Israel has condemned the agreement, saying it could sabotage any efforts to revive peace talks with the Palestinians. The deal envisages an interim unity government comprised of independents and Palestinian elections later in the year.

The Fatah-led PA supports a negotiated peace with Israel to obtain a state in territories the Jewish state captured in a 1967 war. Hamas is officially sworn to Israel's destruction.

Abbas has defended reconciliation with Hamas, saying it reflected a deep-seated Palestinian desire to close a rift with the group that seized Gaza from Fatah forces in 2007.

The United States has responded coolly to the unity pact.

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, the PA's view on the death of the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks was shared by Ahmed Saleh, a 58-year-old retiree.

"The world is better without bin Laden. This has removed a pillar of evil from the world," he said. "His heinous actions were exploited to allow hostile policies towards the Arabs and Muslims."

But Umm Mohammed, a veiled woman, said she hoped news of bin Laden's death was a lie. "God willing, he will continue to conquer the West," she said.

Palestinians hit the headlines after the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, carried out by al Qaeda, when a small group were filmed celebrating in East Jerusalem.

At the time, there were bigger demonstrations in the Gaza Strip in support of the attacks. Palestinians partly blame their national plight on generations of U.S. support for Israel.

But late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat banned such public displays and voiced sympathy for the dead in the United States.

In Gaza, Hamas now faces a challenge from al Qaida-inspired groups that consider it to be too moderate. One such group was behind last month's killing of a pro-Palestinian Italian activist in the territory.

Abdel-Qader Abu Shaaban, a 53-year-old Palestinian from Gaza, described bin Laden's killing as "a very criminal act".

"This is not a victory. If they assassinated bin Laden, there will be others stronger than him: politicians and military people," he said.

I wonder if this is really true. I read a comment that it isn't his body but a look a like. Also I know some say he has been dead for years.

Hello Brother David,

From all the news reports I've heard, I'd say that this is a sure deal. A news spot I just heard said that they would prove to the world that Bin Laden is dead, I assume with released pictures and DNA. He is dead and received a burial at sea, so there won't be any memorial shrine or any further way for him to encourage other terrorists.

There has been so many different stories, conspiracies and this current administration has been caught in so many lies that it is hard for people to believe the truth when it is given to them. Personally I do trust our Navy Seals. They would not support a lie just for the political reasons of this administration nor would they permit such lies about themselves. Especially when it risks the lives of other Military or American civilians because of it. Pakistan claims that they did not know of this mission before it happened and are highly irate about it. They are demanding action against us because of it.

Cleric: Jihad coming to 'heart of America
Al-Qaida revenge attacks to have 'devastating effect'

© 2011 WorldNetDaily
 
The death of Osama bin Laden will bring a "new era of jihad," predicted British extremist cleric Anjem Choudary.

Warning there are motivated jihadists "in the heart of America," Choudary said al-Qaida will likely carry out revenge operations with "meticulous accuracy" and "devastating affect" comparable to that of the 9/11 attacks.

Choudary is the founder and former chief of two Islamic groups disbanded by the British authorities under anti-terror legislation.

Speaking today in an interview with "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio" of New York's WABC Radio, Choudary said that while bin Laden was a "lion of Islam … there are many lions waiting to take his place."

"I do believe that the death of Sheikh Osama will bring in a new era of jihad," Choudary told Klein.

"Post-Osama bin Laden, I believe the mujahedeen around the world will have something to prove, that the jihad is not about an individual."

Choudary said instability for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan "will be a complete nightmare after this event."

Asked whether he believes al-Qaida is planning revenge attacks, the British extremist speculated the global jihad group "will have their own emergency meetings and they will plan their own response."

Continued Choudary: "It may be in the short-term or it may be in the long-term, but ultimately, we know that when they decide on an operation, that most likely it will be fulfilled with meticulous accuracy and with devastating effect."

"We saw that with 9/11," he added.

Choudary said worldwide jihad "at the current time is spread right from Australia all the way to the heart of Europe and into the United States."

"There are many people who believe in the phenomenon of jihad which has been franchised as well from al-Qaida. … And these people live in the heart of Europe and they live in the heart of America."

Choudary currently presents himself as an Islamic lecturer and a leader of Britain's Shariah Islamic court. He is a founder and former chief of Al Muhajiroun, a British group that sought to impose an Islamic state on the U.K. and that was allied with the goals of al-Qaida.

Al Muhajiroun was officially disbanded by the British government in 2004 under anti-terrorism laws, and its main leader, Omar Bakri Muhammad, was banned from the U.K. in 2005. Choudary then became a leader of Al Ghurabaa, which was reportedly a continuation of Al Muhajiroun. Al Ghurabaa was banned in 2006 by the U.K. for reportedly supporting terrorism.

Former Al Muhajiroun members led by Choudary reportedly continue their activism at public protests and on Internet forums under a new banner group called Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah.

Choudary in 2007 led a protest outside London's Central Mosque attended by WND. The protest called for the downfall of the British government for offering knighthood to novelist and essayist Salman Rushdie, who was accused by Muslims of defaming Islam and Muhammad in his 1988 book "The Satanic Verses."

Depictions of British flags were burned at Choudary's protest. Ralliers chanted, "Down with Britain, down with the Queen."

I don't believe much the government says, especially with their lies about inflation and unemployment, but since Pakistan also reported on the incident it likely did take place.

Whether Osama was actually killed or not is problematic. If they captured him alive, they would still say he was killed to prevent Americans being taken hostage to trade for his release. However, as it took 40 minutes to actually penetrate the compound and find Bib Laden, it is likely he wasn't taken by surprise and wouldn't have surrendered, but would have died rather than being taken prisoner.

Burying him at sea was genius in one way, as people won't be making his grave a shrine, but the other side is many people in the Muslim world won't believe he is really dead, even if we release photos and DNA.

Our government can't do much right, but in this case they seem to have done it all right as far as was possible for them. Congratulations to the Seals!

I echo CONGRATULATIONS to the Seals for a job well done! I personally believe that it's all the truth and that Bin Laden is dead - buried at sea. If credibility becomes an issue, they have video of the entire situation and other hard evidence. They probably have video of the preparation for burial at sea.

I agree....way to go SEALS....if anyone could do it...it was going to be Team 6...the baddest of the bad.

Be careful not to rejoice over osama's death as we are not to rejoice when an enemy falls.

Brother, I agree totally. I realize that there are those that are rejoicing but no one here is doing that. We are simply saying that congratulations are in order for the SEAL Team that did a job that needed doing and it was not an easy one to do. There is one less terrorist to cause death and destruction.