Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden dead - Obama

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h1 class="story-header" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Osama Bin Laden" height="171" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52447000/jpg/_52447780_52447773.jpg" width="304" /> <span style="width: 304px;"> </span></h1><div class="caption body-narrow-width"><div class="story-feature related narrow"><div style="text-align: center;"><u><b><span style="width: 304px;">Bin Laden was top of the US "most wanted" list</span></b></u></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Al-Qaeda founder and leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US forces in Pakistan, President Obama has said.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The al-Qaeda leader was killed in a ground operation outside Islamabad based on US intelligence, the first lead for which emerged last August.Mr Obama said after "a firefight", US forces took possession of his body.Bin Laden was accused of being behind a number of atrocities, including the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001.He was top of the US "most wanted" list.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Obama said it was "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al-Qaeda".</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US has put its embassies around the world on alert, warning Americans of the possibility of al-Qaeda reprisal attacks for Bin Laden's killing.Crowds gathered outside the White House in Washington DC, chanting "USA, USA" after the news emerged.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="cross-head"></span> </div><div class="story-feature wide "><a class="hidden" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13256676#story_continues_2"><br /></a> <br /><h2>AT THE SCENE</h2><div class="byline"><span class="byline-name">Haroon Rashid</span> <span class="byline-title">BBC News, Islamabad, Pakistan</span> <br /><hr /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last night there were rumours an operation was going on in an area close to Abbottabad. There were unconfirmed reports of a military helicopter crashing in the area as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Witnesses said the whole area was cordoned off and nobody was allowed close although they did hear gunshots and firearms. But nobody had any inkling that this was an operation to get Osama bin Laden.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For those who keep a close on eye on these matters it wasn't a total shock that he was ultimately hunted down in an urban area.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the past we have had reports of him being treated in hospitals in Rawalpindi for kidney problems. There was even one report that he was treated in the southern city of Karachi. All of these were officially denied.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">And some of the big al-Qaeda and Taliban names in the past have been captured in big Pakistani cities. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Kuwaiti-born senior al Qaeda leader was captured in Rawalpindi, Pakistan and Afghan Taliban military commander Mullah Baradar was reportedly captured in Karachi.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b><span class="cross-head">Lead last August</span></b></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="cross-head"> </span> </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Bin Laden approved the 9/11 attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died, saying later that the results had exceeded his expectations.He evaded the forces of the US and its allies for almost a decade, despite a $25m bounty on his head.His death will be seen as a major blow to al-Qaeda but also raise fears of reprisal attacks, correspondents say.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Obama said he had been briefed last August on a possible lead to Bin Laden's whereabouts."It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground," Mr Obama said."I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located Bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorised an operation to get Osama Bin Laden and bring him to justice," the president said.On Sunday a small team of US forces undertook the operation in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad.After a "firefight" Bin Laden was killed and his body taken by US forces, the president said.<span class="cross-head"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u><b><span class="cross-head">Momentous achievement</span></b></u> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Former US President Bill Clinton said in a statement: "This is a profoundly important moment not just for the families of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and in al-Qaeda's other attacks but for people all over the world who want to build a common future of peace, freedom, and cooperation for our children."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="caption body-narrow-width" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Map" height="171" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52447000/gif/_52447930_05_11_pakistan_abbottabad.gif" width="304" /> </div><div class="caption body-narrow-width" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mr Clinton's successor, President George W Bush, described the news as a "momentous achievement".</div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done," Mr Bush said in a statement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">BBC Security correspondent Frank Gardner says that to many in the West, Bin Laden became the embodiment of global terrorism, but to others he was a hero, a devout Muslim who fought two world superpowers in the name of jihad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The son of a wealthy Saudi construction family, Bin Laden grew up in a privileged world. But soon after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan he joined the Mujahideen there and fought alongside them with his Arab followers, a group that later formed the nucleus for al-Qaeda.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After declaring war on America in 1998, Bin Laden is widely believed to have been behind the bombings of US embassies in East Africa, a billion-dollar US warship, and the attacks on New York and Washington.</div></div>

Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden dead - Obama

  Bin Laden was top of the US "most wanted" list Al-Qaeda founder and leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US forces in...

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