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Another family, including Kuwaiti's brother, who was the co-owner of the complex, lived on the first floor of the main house with further women and children. Bin Laden was thought to be living with his fifth wife and some of his children on the second and third floors behind translucent windows. All in all, at the time of the raid the compound was inhabited by eight or nine children aged from two to 12, three women and at least four men. Ahead of a Monday morning briefing about the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the U.S. government released some graphics that shed new light on the compound where the most-wanted terrorist had been hiding for years. When Seal Team Six carried out a raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2, 2011, they not only killed the al Qaeda leader but swept up a treasure trove of his personal belongings.
Identification of the body
Opinion From Pakistan, answers needed about Osama bin Laden - The Washington Post
Opinion From Pakistan, answers needed about Osama bin Laden.
Posted: Tue, 03 Apr 2012 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Then, on October 12, 2000, a small boat loaded with explosives plowed into the hull of the U.S.S. Cole, an American naval destroyer docked off the coast of Yemen. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.
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Abandoned mansion of Osama bin Laden’s brother lists for $28 million in California - Sacramento Bee
Abandoned mansion of Osama bin Laden’s brother lists for $28 million in California.
Posted: Fri, 30 Jul 2021 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Having cast her vote in favor of the raid, Clinton clearly remained anxious about the consequences of any mishaps for Obama’s presidency. On May 1, 2011, American soldiers killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at his compound near Islamabad, Pakistan. Intelligence officials believe bin Laden was responsible for many deadly acts of terrorism, including the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. “The sole focus of the operation was to kill or capture Osama bin Laden,” a Defense Department official told reporters after the raid, during a background briefing. They took survivors to a safe part of the compound so they weren't hurt when the wrecked helicopter was blown up.
Operation Neptune Spear
He was known to be a skilled orator, able to manipulate a variety of rhetorical strategies and to make his message easily accessible even to the uneducated. At the end of the 20th century, bin Laden was thought to have had thousands of militant followers worldwide, in places as diverse as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya, Bosnia, Chechnya, and the Philippines. Osama bin Laden studied business administration at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, where it is likely that he also received instruction in religious studies from Muḥammad Quṭb, brother of the Islamic revivalist Sayyid Quṭb, and Abdullah Azzam, a militant leader.
It's Unclear How Many People Lived There
Four combatants and one woman used as a human shield were killed in the raid, according to Pentagon statements. The second group poured into the main house before working their way, clearing room by room, up to Bin Laden's quarters. Kuwaiti's brother was killed as he prepared to fire a gun and as the troops moved to ascend the stairs to the second and third floors, they killed a fourth person, thought to be Bin Laden's adult son Hamza as he "lunged" towards them, according to the New York Times report.
They picked up the bloodied bodies of Bin Laden and his son and flew into the night, back to Afghanistan. They were out of sight by the time the first Pakistani officials arrived shortly afterwards to find four dead bodies – including an unnamed man thought perhaps to have been a guard or household retainer – and the bound survivors in reportedly hysterical mood. Kuwaiti lived with his family in the complex's guesthouse, divided from the main house by a high wall.
Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.
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In October 1999, the United Nations designated al-Qaeda as a terrorist organization. Bin Laden’s family lived isolated even from the al-Kuwaiti brothers and their families, with a locked metal door at the base of the stairwell to the terrorist's rooms. Only the two couriers left the compound on any kind of regular basis—to run errands, go to the mosque and occasionally attend funerals, weddings or other local ceremonies.
Letter to the American people
Eventually he rebelled against indoor confinement, sending his son Khalid to buy him a hat with a wide brim, like a cowboy hat, that would mask his features if he went outside late in the day. Khalid also oversaw the construction of a gazebo and trellises that would prevent a satellite from obtaining a clear image of his face or physique. Khalil and his family lived there for more than 20 years but were forced to flee following the September 11 attacks. According to Fox 35 Orlando, the home - which sits on 17 acres of land - has changed owners several times over the years and it used to belong to the family that created Tupperware and a creator of Jello. “If he had failed that night, I think it would have cost Obama the presidency,” Mullen said later, citing the thought that haunted him as he and others watched the raid unfold.
The al-Kuwaiti brothers disguised how many people lived in the compound by ensuring that no fewer than four separate electric meters were installed. The compound came to be known to locals as the Waziristan Haveli, or Waziristan House/Mansion, due to the Waziri accents of “Arshad” and his brother, Ibrahim. Both men—al Qaeda stalwarts who would serve as bin Laden’s primary couriers, caretakers, aides and buffers to the outside world, moved in first, together with their families. By the end of 2005, bin Laden and at least three of his wives and several younger children, had arrived and been installed. Older bin Laden children and their spouses and children would come and go over the next half-dozen years. “Arshad” instructed a local builder to construct a 7-foot-high wall around one of the buildings, and then a thick, 18-foot high wall around the entire compound, topped by razor wire.
A senior Pentagon official told reporters on Monday in a background briefing that the American team engaged in a firefight and Bin Laden resisted. The official gave the strong impression Bin Laden had been armed and may have been shooting. US officials have given the clearest version yet of the killing of Osama bin Laden in an account that directly contradicts previous assertions by the director of the CIA, Leon Panetta, and White House chief security adviser, John Brennan, that he died in a firefight.
Yellow flowered curtains screened the room from curious eyes, and the walls were filled with hundreds of tapes (audio and video) carefully organized in rows. “Arshad” hired a local architectural firm to draw up plans for a large, two-story building on the premises—with very specific criteria. On the ground floor, the new villa was designed with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as a kitchen; the second floor had another four bedrooms and four bathrooms. A third floor was added later, write Levy and Scott-Clark; it would become bin Laden’s living area, with a bedroom, study and tiny bathroom and kitchen.
For many families of 9/11 victims, bin Laden’s death symbolized justice and retribution. The compound’s unusual and extensive security features, along with further intelligence information, prompted suspicion that the residence was Osama bin Laden’s hideout. Before the conflict was fully resolved and a new routine established, SEAL team six arrived by helicopter the night of May 2, 2011, and Osama, the al-Kuwaiti brothers and some of their family members were dead. On the back of a door, he hung the thobe (an Arab man’s robe) he donned when filming videos to be distributed to followers. A snub-nosed Kalashnikov, a memento from his days fighting Russian invaders in Afghanistan, rested on a shelf above the door.
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