Osama bin Laden dead [UPDATED] – WJBC – The Voice of Central Illinois

Osama bin Laden dead [UPDATED] – WJBC – The Voice of Central Illinois.

Notorious terrorist leader Osama bin Laden is dead. President Obama confirmed the news in a hastily-scheduled late night address at the White House. The President said bin Laden was killed in a covert U.S. operation in Pakistan.

Bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaeda network, was the mastermind of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Tracking the elusive bin Laden has been a frustrating journey for the U.S. and allies. Since 9-11, bin Laden has periodically taunted the U.S. in rambling video statements. Shortly after the 9-11 attacks in 2001, former President George W. Bush said he wanted bin Laden “dead or alive.”

A jubilant crowd gathered outside the White House as word spread of bin Laden’s death after a global manhunt that lasted nearly a decade. “Justice has been done,” the president said.

Pakistan’s first official statement about the operation to kill Osama bin Laden does not address questions about whether the al-Qaida mastermind’s whereabouts were known. Pakistan’s foreign ministry says the death of bin Laden shows the resolve of his country and the world to battle terrorism. Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, not far from the capital. Critics have long accused elements of Pakistan’s security establishment of protecting bin Laden. pakistan denies it. He died at a two-story house just 100 yards from a Pakistani military academy.

Four helicopters carrying U.S. forces swooped in early Monday, Pakistan time, killing the world’s most wanted man and leaving his final hiding place in flames. Pakistani officials and a witness say bin Laden’s guards opened fire from the roof of the compound in the small northwestern town of Abbottabad, and one of the choppers crashed. However U.S. officials said no Americans were hurt. Critics have long accused elements of Pakistan’s security establishment of protecting bin Laden.

Pakistani officials said a son of bin Laden and three other people were killed.

The stunning end to the world’s most widely-watched manhunt came as a result of dogged and sometimes frustrating intelligence work ever since Sept. 11, 2001. Officials say one key was a trusted Osama bin Laden courier they thought might be living with the al-Qaida mastermind. In November, intelligence officials found out where the courier was living, a huge fortified compound in Pakistan, not far from Islamabad.

Intelligence officials believed the $1 million home was custom-built to harbor a major terrorist and eventually concluded it must be bin Laden. The White House says President Barack Obama convened at least nine meetings with top national security officials in the lead-up to the raid.

Officials say the final operation was so secret that no foreign officials were informed and only a small circle in Washington was aware of it.

A U.S. official says Osama bin Laden has been buried at sea. After bin Laden was killed in a raid by U.S. forces in Pakistan, senior administration officials said the body would be handled according to Islamic practice and tradition. That practice calls for the body to be buried within 24 hours, the official said. Finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world’s most wanted terrorist would have been difficult, the official said. So the U.S. decided to bury him at sea.

The official, who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive national security matters, did not immediately say where that occurred.

The State Department is putting U.S. embassies on alert and is warning Americans abroad of possible reprisal attacks from al-Qaida and its affiliates around the world after the killing of the group’s leader. In a worldwide travel alert released shortly after President Obama late Sunday announced bin Laden’s death in a military operation, the department said there was an “enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counterterrorism activity in Pakistan.” It said Americans living or traveling abroad, particularly in areas that have been hit by anti-American violence in the past should limit travel outside their homes and avoid large gatherings.

The alert said U.S. embassy operations would continue “to the extent possible under the constraints of any evolving security situation.”

A pair of big city police departments say they’ll be extra vigilant following the killing of bin Laden. The top Los Angeles counterterrorism commander says police will be stepping up intelligence monitoring to foil possible reprisal attempts on U.S. soil. The head of the department’s counterterrorism and special operations bureau says officers will be keeping close tabs on intelligence buzz to develop immediate response plans.

With its numerous tourist attractions famed worldwide, Los Angeles has been pinpointed as a top target for possible terrorist actions.

And in New York, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is reminding his commands that while there’s no information indicating a specific threat to the city following bin Laden’s death, officers should remain alert.

Reaction to the death of Osama bin Laden began even before President Obama made it official. Outside the White House, a large crowd gathered in anticipation, waving American flags and chanting “U-S-A!” The same cry rippled through a Mets-Phillies game in Philadelphia as people learned the news through their cell phones. In New York City, a large crowd gathered at ground zero. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Americans have kept their promise after Sept. 11 to capture or kill bin Laden. He says bin Laden’s death doesn’t lessen the suffering of that day, but it is a “critically important victory.”

New York City’s police commissioner says bin Laden’s death is a “welcome milestone” for the families and friends of those killed on 9-11. He told all police commands to remain on alert.

Former President George W. Bush says he has congratulated President Obama after hearing about the death of Osama bin Laden. In a statement Sunday night, Bush said Obama called that U.S. forces had killed bin Laden. Bush said he also congratulated the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to the mission.

Bush said, “This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001.” He also said the U.S. “has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.”

Listen to President Obama’s address on the death of Osama bin Laden in its entirety below:

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