WASHINGTON: Osama bin Laden, the world’s most wanted man, was killed in Pakistan as the result of a U.S. military operation, President Obama announced to the nation Sunday night.
The historic revelation comes about four months before the 10th anniversary of the devastating Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, which were executed by the Al Qaeda network helmed by Bin Laden and prompted the start of a war on terror that has dominated U.S. foreign policy.
Raise Fears: Bin Laden, 54, was a member of a wealthy Saudi family and has been on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives List since 1999. Bin Laden broke with Saudi leaders over their beliefs regarding Israel. He was eventually denounced by his family and gave up citizenship. Al Qaeda has taken responsibility for the bombings of U.S. embassies in 1998 in Tanzania and Kenya. Al Qaeda has also claimed responsibility for other attacks on other symbols of U.S. power around the globe. It has spawned local organizations in hot spots from Iraq to Afghanistan. The announcement by Obama from the East Room of the White House came eight years to the day after President Bush announced the end of major combat operations in Iraq, the so-called Mission Accomplished” speech from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Members of Congress were briefed on the news by Vice President Joe Biden throughout the weekend, according to a Senate aide. 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. Mr Obama said he had been briefed last August on a possible lead to Osama Bin Laden’s whereabouts. It led to intelligence that the al-Qaeda leader was hiding in a compound deep within Pakistan.
The president authorised an operation to get Bin Laden last week, he said, and on Sunday a small team of US forces undertook the operation. After a firefight Bin Laden was killed and his body taken by US forces, the president said.
(CNN) -- The mastermind of the worst terrorist attack on American soil is dead, U.S. President Barack Obama announced late Sunday night, almost 10 years after the attacks that killed almost 3,000 people.
Osama bin Laden -- the longtime leader of al Qaeda -- was killed by U.S. forces in a mansion outside the Pakistani capital of Islamabad along with other family members, a senior U.S. official told CNN.
In an address to the nation late Sunday night, Obama called bin Laden's death "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda."
Up-to-the-minute updates on bin Laden | President's statement
"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan," Obama said. "A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."
U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world were placed on high alert following the announcement of bin Laden's death, a senior U.S. official said, and the U.S. State Department should be sending out a new "worldwide caution" for Americans shortly. Some fear al Qaeda supporters may try to retaliate against U.S. citizens or U.S. institutions.
Hundreds of people arrived at the White House late Sunday night and chanted, "USA! USA!" They then chanted, "Hey, hey, goodbye!" in reference to the demise of bin Laden and then spontaneously sang the national anthem.
"This welcome news is a credit to our intelligence efforts and brings to justice the architect of the attacks on our country that killed nearly 3,000 people on September 11, 2001," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, in a statement issued Sunday night.
The news brought some relief to the grieving family members of those killed on 9/11.
"This is important news for us, and for the world. It cannot ease our pain, or bring back our loved ones," Gordon Felt, president of Families of Flight 93, said in a statement. "It does bring a measure of comfort that the mastermind of the September 11th tragedy and the face of global terror can no longer spread his evil."
In his speech, Obama reiterated that the United States is not at war with Islam.
"I've made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, released a statement Monday morning welcoming the death of bin Laden.
"As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and Al Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide," the statement said. "We also reiterate President Obama's clear statement tonight that the United States is not at war with Islam."
CNN's Ed Henry, Jeanne Meserve and Elise Labott contributed to this report
courtesy CNN
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