President Obama: US forces killed Osama in Pakistan
(Updated 5:28 p.m.) WASHINGTON - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed Sunday in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama announced Sunday (Monday in Manila).
"Justice has been done," Obama said in a dramatic, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the New York and Washington.
Obama said U.S. forces led the operation that killed bin Laden. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said.
"The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of men, women and children," Obama said.
It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, after many Americans had given up hope of ever finding bin Laden.
A crowd gathered outside the White House to celebrate, chanting, "USA, USA."
Buried at sea
The New York Times said bin Laden's body was taken to Afghanistan and then buried at sea.
Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, had repeatedly vowed to bring bin Laden to justice "dead or alive" for the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people, but never did before leaving office in early 2009.
Profile: OSAMA BIN LADEN
LONDON - Challenging the might of the "infidel" United States, Osama bin Laden masterminded the deadliest militant attacks in history and then built a global network of allies to wage a "holy war" intended to outlive him.
The man behind the suicide hijack attacks of September 11, 2001 was the nemesis of former President George W. Bush, who pledged to take him "dead or alive" and whose two terms were dominated by a "war on terror" against his al Qaeda network.
Bin Laden also assailed Bush's successor, Barack Obama, dismissing a new beginning with Muslims he offered in a 2009 speech as sowing "seeds for hatred and revenge against America."
READ MORE
U.S. officials said that after searching in vain for the al Qaeda leader since he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2001, the Saudi-born extremist was killed in the Pakistani town of Abbotabad and his body recovered.
Having the body may help convince any doubters that bin Laden is really dead.
He had been the subject of a search since he eluded U.S. soldiers and Afghan militia forces in a large-scale assault on the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan in 2001.
The trail quickly went cold after he disappeared and many intelligence officials believed he had been hiding in Pakistan.
While in hiding, bin Laden had taunted the West and advocated his militant Islamist views in videotapes spirited from his hideaway.
Besides September 11, Washington has also linked bin Laden to a string of attacks -- including the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen.
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9/11 terror attacks
The news comes nearly 10 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the worst assault on American territory since Pearl Harbor which triggered the Pacific conflict of World War II.
The 9/11 attacks led to the US invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 — countries where the US is still engaged in its longest conflicts since the Vietnam War.
The US has been pursuing Osama for just as long, nearly capturing him in the cave complex of Tora Bora in Afghanistan in December 2001, before he reportedly escaped by mule.
Confidential US cables recently released by WikiLeaks reveal that Osama, a wealthy Arab who bankrolled much of Al Queda's operations through the years, has recently been hard-up, and was even forced to borrow money from colleagues. - HS, Reuters
"Justice has been done," Obama said in a dramatic, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the New York and Washington.
Obama said U.S. forces led the operation that killed bin Laden. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said.
"The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of men, women and children," Obama said.
It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, after many Americans had given up hope of ever finding bin Laden.
A crowd gathered outside the White House to celebrate, chanting, "USA, USA."
Buried at sea
The New York Times said bin Laden's body was taken to Afghanistan and then buried at sea.
Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, had repeatedly vowed to bring bin Laden to justice "dead or alive" for the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people, but never did before leaving office in early 2009.
LONDON - Challenging the might of the "infidel" United States, Osama bin Laden masterminded the deadliest militant attacks in history and then built a global network of allies to wage a "holy war" intended to outlive him.
The man behind the suicide hijack attacks of September 11, 2001 was the nemesis of former President George W. Bush, who pledged to take him "dead or alive" and whose two terms were dominated by a "war on terror" against his al Qaeda network.
Bin Laden also assailed Bush's successor, Barack Obama, dismissing a new beginning with Muslims he offered in a 2009 speech as sowing "seeds for hatred and revenge against America."
READ MORE
U.S. officials said that after searching in vain for the al Qaeda leader since he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2001, the Saudi-born extremist was killed in the Pakistani town of Abbotabad and his body recovered.
Having the body may help convince any doubters that bin Laden is really dead.
He had been the subject of a search since he eluded U.S. soldiers and Afghan militia forces in a large-scale assault on the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan in 2001.
The trail quickly went cold after he disappeared and many intelligence officials believed he had been hiding in Pakistan.
While in hiding, bin Laden had taunted the West and advocated his militant Islamist views in videotapes spirited from his hideaway.
Besides September 11, Washington has also linked bin Laden to a string of attacks -- including the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen.
View Larger Map
9/11 terror attacks
The news comes nearly 10 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the worst assault on American territory since Pearl Harbor which triggered the Pacific conflict of World War II.
The 9/11 attacks led to the US invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 — countries where the US is still engaged in its longest conflicts since the Vietnam War.
The US has been pursuing Osama for just as long, nearly capturing him in the cave complex of Tora Bora in Afghanistan in December 2001, before he reportedly escaped by mule.
Confidential US cables recently released by WikiLeaks reveal that Osama, a wealthy Arab who bankrolled much of Al Queda's operations through the years, has recently been hard-up, and was even forced to borrow money from colleagues. - HS, Reuters
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