A visual of the Osama compound in Islamad, Pakistan May 2, 2011.
White House press secretary Jay Carney provided the following official narrative on Tuesday of the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan:
* A small team of US commandos assaulted a compound in the town of Abbottabad near the capital Islamabad on Monday with orders to capture or kill bin Laden.
US military personnel flew in on two helicopters, one of which suffered mechanical problems and was later destroyed. The team methodically cleared the compound, moving from room to room in an operation lasting nearly 40 minutes. They were engaged in a firefight throughout the operation. Bin Laden was killed when he “resisted”.
* In addition to the bin Laden family, two other families lived in the compound — one family on the first floor of the bin Laden building and one family in a second building. One team began the operation on the first floor of the bin Laden house and worked their way to the third floor. A second team cleared the separate building.
* On the first floor of bin Laden’s building, two al Qaeda couriers were killed along with a woman who was shot in cross-fire. Bin Laden and his family were found on the second and third floor of the building.
* In the room with bin Laden, a woman — bin Laden’s wife — rushed a US commando and was shot in the leg but not killed. Bin Laden was then shot and killed. He was unarmed.
* A third helicopter flew in to replace the destroyed one, and the team departed via the helicopters to the USS Carl Vinson in the North Arabian Sea.
* Aboard the USS Carl Vinson, Islamic rites were observed in disposing of the al Qaeda leader’s body.
His body was washed, wrapped in a white sheet and placed in a weighted bag. A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. The bag was then placed on a flat board that was tipped up, and bin Laden’s body was eased into the sea.
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