Osama Bin Laden Is Dead
In a stunning development, President Barack Obama confirmed late Sunday evening that Osama bin Laden, the leader of terrorist group Al-Qaeda responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, was killed Sunday in Pakistan.
Obama made the announcement in a televised address shortly after 11:30 PM ET, about an hour after reports of bin Laden's death had made their way onto the Internet.
In his address, Obama revealed he had been briefed last August on a possible lead to bin Laden. Obama referred to the lead as "far from certain," adding that it took "many months" to determine that bin Laden was hiding within a compound deep inside Pakistan.
Last week, Obama concluded the United States had enough intelligence to take action, and today, authorized a "targeted operation" against said compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The operation was carried out by a small team of U.S. operatives, none of whom were harmed. Obama said that bin Laden was killed during a firefight, and the troops took custody of his body.
The death of Osama bin Laden comes nearly 10 years after the devastating attacks on Sept. 11, 2011, which Obama recalled in his address.
[NY Times]