Osama Bin Laden killed in Pakistan

Almost 10 years after the 9/11 terror strike, al Qaeda mastermind and world’s most dreaded terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces after being hounded in a special operation in Abbottabad in Pakistan.

Bin Laden, 54, is dead and his body is in US custody, President Barack Obama announced at half past 11 Sunday US time as crowds outside White House chanted ‘USA, USA’.

Giving details of the operation, Obama said last week he determined that “we had enough intelligence to take action and authorised an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.”Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan”.

Abbottabad is about 150 kms north of Islamabad. “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,” Obama said in his address to the world from the East Room of the White House.

As soon he announced the death of the wanted terrorist, there were instant celebrations in Washington, outside the White House, and New York where the twin-tower terrorist strike happened 10 years ago killing over 3000 people.

“Justice has been done,” Obama said, adding a small team of Americans carried out the operation. No American was harmed in the operation. After a fire fight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body,” Obama said.

Calling his death as the “the most significant achievement” in the war, he said, “We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad.

Bin Laden caught the world’s eye with his audacious targeting of the twin towers and the Pentagon. Since then, the United Stated had launched a massive hunt for him in Afghanistan and also in border areas of Pakistan.

Obama said, “We must also reaffirm that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam.Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader.He was a mass murderer of Muslims”.

The US President also called the Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, after the US operation was over and told him that this is a good and historic day for both of the nations. “Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth and power but because of who we are,” he said.

Bin Laden, who created and funded the al Qaeda terror network, was accused of being behind a number of atrocities, including the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001. He was suspected of playing large roles in the 1998 bombings of two US Embassies in Africa and the attack on the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden in October 2000.

The Saudi exile had been a on the run since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan overthrew the ruling Taliban regime, which harboured bin Laden.

Like the proverbial cat with nine lives, bin Laden had survived many attempts by US and other forces including at Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan with certain reports in the past claiming that he had been killed or had died of complications due to acute diabetes but he resurfaced later.

He had also taunted the US and other forces sending out recorded video and audio clips threatening to carry out more vicious attacks on American and other targets.

Osama bin Laden timeline :

1957 Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden is born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

1979 Soviet forces invade Afghanistan. Bin Laden leaves Saudi Arabia to join the Afghan resistance (mujahedeen).

1986-89 According to Islamic sources, bin Laden participates in numerous battles during the Afghan war against the Soviets as a guerrilla commander.1988 Bin Laden establishes al-Qaida, an organization of ex-mujahedeen and other supporters. Its mission is to channel fighters and money to the Afghan resistance.

1989 After Soviet forces pull out of Afghanistan, bin Laden returns to Saudi Arabia a hero. He becomes involved in opposition movements to the Saudi monarchy while working for his family’s construction firm.

Dec. 29, 1992 A bomb explodes in a hotel in Aden, Yemen, killing two Austrian tourists. U.S. intelligence agencies allege that this is the first terrorist attack involving bin Laden and his associates.

Feb. 26, 1993 A truck bomb is detonated at the World Trade Center. It kills six and injures about 1,000.

February/March 1995 Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the World Trade Center bombing, is captured in Pakistan and extradited to the United States. A search of his former residences leads investigators to believe he is financially linked to bin Laden.

August 1996 Bin Laden signs and issues a Declaration of Jihad outlining his organization’s goals: drive U.S. forces from the Arabian Peninsula, overthrow the government of Saudi Arabia, liberate Muslim holy sites, and support Islamic revolutionary groups around the world.

1997-98 Yousef is found guilty of masterminding the World Trade Center bombing and is sentenced to life in prison.

Aug. 7, 1998 Two simultaneous explosions rock U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The bomb in Nairobi kills 213 people and injures more than 4,500. The bomb in Dar es Salaam kills 11 and injures 85.

Oct. 12, 2000 The Norfolk-based destroyer Cole is attacked while refueling in Yemen, killing 17 sailors. Al-Qaida claims responsibility.

Sept. 11, 2001 Four U.S. commercial planes are hijacked and crashed into both towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon, and a rural area of central Pennsylvania. More than 3,000 people are killed, and thousands are injured.

Oct. 7, 2001 The United States and Britain begin what Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calls Operation Enduring Freedom with several days of airstrikes against Taliban government installations and al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan.

October 2004 Bin Laden says for the first time that he ordered the Sept. 11 attacks.

May 1, 2011 President Barack Obama speaks to the nation and announces the death of bin Laden, saying he was killed in a CIA operation in Pakistan.

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Posted by admin on May 2 2011. Filed under Breaking News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.