Abbottabad: Ending a nearly 10-year worldwide hunt for the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the US forces killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Sunday.
In a dramatic, hastily-called late night White House press briefing, US President Barack Obama announced, "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`s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children."
According to one official, national security leaders were in the Situation Room since 1 pm on Sunday. The rest of the afternoon went as follows:
Is he Osama bin Laden?
Is he Osama bin Laden?
At 2 pm, Obama met with the team to review final preparations.
At 3:32 pm, he returned to the Situation Room for an additional briefing.
At 3:50 pm, he learned that bin Laden had been tentatively identified.
At 7:01 pm, the president learned there was a "high probability" the target was bin Laden.
At 8:30 pm, Obama received more briefings.
In Abbottabad, a senior US defence official said the actual operation took place at 3:30 pm ET.
Officials said three adult men other than bin Laden were killed – one was believed to be bin Laden's son, the others couriers. Two women were also injured, the officials said. No Americans were killed, though the US did lose a helicopter that went down due to mechanical failure. An official said the Pakistanis were not involved in the raid but helped provide information that led to it. Intelligence was also provided by detainees.
