Dramatic reconstruction of how hit squad finally took out Bin Laden

# Luxury compound was only 60 miles from Pakistan capital Islamabad
# 40 minute shootout put an end to decade long hunt for terror chief
# Bin Laden refused to surrender and was eventually shot in the head
# Body had to be carried away on foot after U.S. helicopter broke down



Almost ten years after the horror of 9/11, Osama bin Laden must have thought he was safe.

He had moved from the remote, barren mountains on Afghanistan’s inhospitable border to a comfortable $1million mansion in one of Pakistan’s most picturesque and affluent cities.

Abbottabad - named after James Abbott, the British major who founded the town in 1853 - has such a pleasant climate that it is a major hub for tourists visiting the region.

And the former home of the Gurkhas is still a major military base so locals have no reason to feel threatened.

Behind the walls of his sprawling compound about 60 miles north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, Bin Laden had every reason to believe he was way beyond the searching eyes of the Americans he had taunted for so long.

His family was with him and a parade of couriers would bring him everything he needed from the city outside of more than a million people.

So confident was he that the huge three-storey house he was living in was eight times larger than most other homes in the area, hardly a low-profile hideaway for the most wanted man in the world.

But, according to U.S. intelligence sources, Bin Laden was taken completely by surprise by the special forces who had spent the best part of a decade stalking him.

He had, after all, survived two wars launched with the aim of capturing him and his followers.

The last time the Americans and the British got as close - a few months after the attacks on New York and Washington - Bin Laden managed to elude them on horseback through the caves and gullies in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan.

For most of the past ten years, Bin Laden lived up to the nickname of 'Elvis' he had been given by the CIA because there had been so many bogus and fanciful sightings.

But as long ago as last August, President Obama was told in an intelligence briefing that there was a possible lead that Bin Laden was hiding in plain sight in Abbottabad.

It took eight months for U.S. and Pakistani agents to confirm for certain that the information was accurate.

Wanted man: Nearly 10 years after the 9/11 atrocities, a carefully planned U.S. operation led to Osama bin Laden being shot dead in Pakistan

Prince William to return to work before honeymoon

Prince William will resume his job as a helicopter pilot next week before going on a honeymoon abroad with his new wife, royal officials said today.

The prince (picture) and 29-year-old Kate Middleton, who dated for nearly a decade, married in London’s Westminster Abbey yesterday in a ceremony that captivated the world.

“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have chosen not to depart for a honeymoon immediately,” St James’s Palace said in a statement, referring to the couple by their new titles bestowed by Queen Elizabeth.

“The locations of both their private weekend before The Duke returns to work and their future honeymoon, which will be overseas, will not be disclosed in advance,” it said, adding that the couple will spend the weekend in Britain, although not at their Welsh home.

Earlier today, the newlyweds flew out of Buckingham Palace by helicopter.

Obama makes jokes about Trump at journalists’ dinner

What President Obama said Donald Trump would do to the White House if he became President in the 2012 elections. Donald Trump (second left) and his wife Melania (right) arrive for the dinner. What President Obama said Donald Trump would do to the White House if he became President in the 2012 elections


President Barack Obama told jokes at the expense of US real estate mogul Donald Trump last night, mocking his possible presidential ambitions in remarks at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

With Trump in the hotel ballroom audience of celebrities, politicians and journalists, Obama zeroed in on talk fuelled by Trump that the president was not US-born.

Obama on Wednesday released a longer version of his birth certificate to answer some Republicans including Trump who claim he was not native born and therefore ineligible to be president, and blasted “carnival barkers” who refuse to let the issue die.

Trump has seized on the issue while testing the waters for a possible 2012 run for the Republican presidential nomination. Obama, a Democrat, is running for re-election next year

Libya’s Gaddafi survives air strikes, son killed

Spokesman Mussa Ibrahim, who took foreign journalists on a guided tour: “This is not permitted by international law. It is not permitted by any moral code or principle.Libyans in Benghazi celebrate May 1, 2011, following news that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son was killed.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi survived a Nato air strike on a Tripoli house that killed his youngest son and three grandchildren, a government spokesman said today.

Libyan officials took journalists to the house, which had been hit by at least three missiles. The roof had completely caved in in some areas, leaving mangled rods of reinforcing steel hanging down among chunks of concrete.

“What we have now is the law of the jungle,” government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told a news conference. “We think now it is clear to everyone that what is happening in Libya has nothing to do with the protection of civilians.”

Gaddafi, who seized power in a 1969 coup, is fighting an uprising by rebels who have seized much of the eastern part of the country. British and French-led Nato forces are permitted under a United Nations resolution to mount air attacks on Gaddafi forces to protect civilians.

Inside one part of the villa hit late on yesterday, a beige corner sofa was virtually untouched, but debris had caved in on other striped upholstered chairs. The blasts had been heard across the city late yesterday.

A table football machine stood outside in the garden in a wealthy residential area of Tripoli. Glass and debris covered the lawns, and what appeared to be an unexploded missile lay in one corner.

Huge crowd descends on Vatican for beatification

A priest uses a bookmark depicting the late Pope John Paul II for his book of the gospels.Pilgrims hold a prayer vigil at the ancient Circus Maximus arena in Rome April 30, 2011
Hundreds of thousands of people converged on St Peter’s Square in one of the biggest crowds ever seen at the Vatican on Sunday to participate in the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

Streams of people some 30 wide moved towards the Vatican area from all directions from before dawn to get a spot for the Mass where Pope Benedict was to move his predecessor a step closer to sainthood.

The crowd of devotees, many carrying national flags and singing songs, was the largest seen in the capital since millions turned out for his funeral six years ago.

Many camped out during the night. The entire Vatican area was sealed off as stewards marshalled the huge crowd in groups of 6,000 at a time towards St Peter’s Square, which was bedecked with posters and photos of the late pope.

Many were from the late pope’s native Poland. Dozens of red and white Polish flags bobbed above the crowd and a cheer went up when a group of Poles released a large banner reading “Thank You, God” held aloft by balloons.

Timeline: Life and times of Pope John Paul II

People pass by a photo of late Pope John Paul II at the Old town of Krakow.

The late Pope John Paul moved a major step closer to sainthood today at a ceremony that drew more than a million people, the largest crowd in Rome since his funeral six years ago.

Here is a timeline of the pontificate of John Paul.

Nato hits Gaddafi convoy in East Libya

Libyans celebrate in Benghazi following news that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s son was killed in a Nato air strike.

A Nato air strike destroyed 45 vehicles of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces after they had killed at least five civilians in fighting in two east Libyan towns, an oil official and a rebel spokesman said today.

Gaddafi forces entered the towns of Jalu and Awlijah, south of the eastern frontline near Ajdabiyah, early yesterday and opened fire, killing at least five civilians and wounding more than 10, the rebel military spokesman said.

AbdelJalil Mayouf, information manager at Agoco oil company that controls rebel-held oilfields in the area, said that after that attack a Nato air strike destroyed a convoy of 45 vehicles belonging to pro-Gaddafi forces as they left Jalu.

Rebel chief pained by bloodshed in Gaddafi family - Russia says Nato may be targeting Gaddafi

Rebel chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said today he felt “pain and sorrow” even for Muammar Gaddafi’s family following a Nato air strike on his house in Tripoli, but blamed the Libyan leader for the violence.

Gaddafi survived the air attacke on the dwelling but his youngest son, Saif al-Arab, and three grandchildren were killed, according to a government spokesman.

Abdel Jalil, speaking in comments broadcast on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera channel, also offered amnesty to Gaddafi supporters who abandon the Libyan leader and join the rebels.

“We feel pain and sorrow for any bloodshed, even when Gaddafi’s house was bombed last night. We feel pain for any blood that is shed unjustly,” Abdel Jalil said.

“But the blood of Gaddafi’s sons is not more precious than the blood of Libyan men and women,” he added.

Abdel Jalil said Gaddafi was to blame for the civil war.

“He bombed our cities and villages with rocket launchers and planes. He shed blood and killed children ...,” he said.

Abdel Jalil urged Gaddafi supporters to join the rebels.

“You must abandon him and you will live with us in peace and security. Anyone who abandons Muammar Gaddafi in these moments will have peace and security for him and his family and will live with us in prosperity in the future.”

Senior official in Pakistan’s ISI confirms bin Laden killed

Pentagon and Twin Tower hit by Al qeada force.

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed almost 3,000 people and put the United States on a decade-long war footing, was killed late last night in Abbotabad by a joint American and Pakistani team, senior security officials said today.

“Yes, I can confirm that,” one senior intelligence official told Reuters, but declined to give further details.

Another security official in Peshawar confirmed it was a joint operation between CIA and Pakistani security forces.

“It was carried out on a very precise info that some high-value target is there,” he said.

Zawahri, al Qaeda’s No. 2 leader

Osama bin Laden (left) with his adviser and purported successor Ayman al-Zawahiri, during an interview with Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir (not pictured) in an image supplied by the respected Dawn newspaper November 10, 2001.

Who was Osama bin Laden?

Here are some key facts about Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia in 1957, one of more than 50 children of millionaire construction magnate Mohamed bin Laden. His first marriage was to a Syrian cousin at the age of 17, and he is reported to have at least 23 children from at least five wives.

Convinced that Muslims are victims of US-led terrorism, bin Laden is blamed for masterminding a series of attacks on US targets in Africa and the Middle East in the 1990s. His family, which became rich from the Saudi construction boom, disowned him, and he was stripped of his Saudi citizenship.

Obama: Osama bin Laden killed in shootout

 News anchors prepare to go live from the briefing room as US President Barack Obama delivers remarks to the nation from the White House in Washington, May 1, 2011.

 US President Barack Obama announcing live on television the death of Osama bin Laden from the White House in Washington yesterday, May 1, 2011

 May 26, 1998 file photo of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. The elusive Al Qaeda leader is dead and his body has been recovered by US authorities, CNN reported yesterday, May 1, 2011

 Firemen battle the fires in the Pentagon after a hijacked airliner crashed into the building in this September 11, 2001 file photo. Osama bin Laden was the mastermind of the attack.

 The World Trade Center towers in New York burn on September 11, 2001. Osama bin Laden was the mastermind of the attacks on New York and Washington.

People cheer and wave US flags outside the White House as President Obama delivers his remarks to the nation.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed yesterday in a firefight with US forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama said yesterday.

“Justice has been done,” Obama said in a dramatic, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people.

It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, and could give him a political boost as he seeks re-election in 2012.

And it was at least a huge symbolic blow to al Qaeda, the militant organisation that has staged bloody attacks in many Western and Arab cities, and has been the subject of a worldwide campaign against it.

Al Qaeda No.2 Zawahri most likely to succeed bin Laden

Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri speaks in an image taken from video footage released on April 29, 2006

Egyptian-born doctor and surgeon Ayman al-Zawahri is al Qaeda's second-in-command expected to succeed Osama bin Laden following his killing in a firefight with U.S.forces in Pakistan.

Zawahri has been the brains behind bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, and at times its most public face, repeatedly denouncing the United States and its allies in video messages.

Al Qaeda leader bin Laden dead, Obama says

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the nation from the White House in Washington, May 1, 2011. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a mansion outside the Pakistani capital Islamabad, Obama said on Sunday.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed on Sunday in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama announced on Sunday.


"Justice has been done," Obama said in a dramatic, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the New York and Washington.

Obama said U.S. forces led the operation that killed bin Laden. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said.

Osman Bin Laden is dead BARACK OBAMA'S WHITE HOUSE SPEECH IN FULL