CIA Releases New Details on 2011 Operation Killing Osama bin Laden
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released new details of the 2011 operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, which led to the killing of Osama bin Laden, coinciding with the fifteenth anniversary of the raid. According to the released report, the operation was carried out on the night of May 2, 2011, under the orders of then-US President Barack Obama, by the country’s special forces. The CIA stated that the mission was the result of years of coordinated intelligence efforts within the US intelligence community.
The report noted that tracking one of bin Laden’s closest couriers was the main lead to finding his hideout. This pursuit ultimately led to a suspicious and heavily guarded house in Abbottabad—a building with high walls, barbed wire, no normal communications, and a unique waste disposal method, all of which heightened intelligence agencies’ suspicions.
According to the CIA, during the operation two special forces helicopters entered the area, one of which suffered an accident; nevertheless, the mission continued without interruption, and bin Laden was killed approximately nine minutes after the operation began.
The agency added that his identity was confirmed through various means, and his body was subsequently buried at sea, though no further details were provided on this matter.
Based on documents recovered from the site, US officials stated that bin Laden remained an active leader of al-Qaeda until his last moments and was even considering changing his hideout.
The CIA described bin Laden’s killing as a milestone in America’s campaign against al-Qaeda. This comes as Washington had not previously released this level of detail about the operation in the past fifteen years.
