Buildings went up in flames during the firefight which claimed the al-Qaeda leader's life.
Bin Laden was holed up in a house in a two-story house in the town of Abbottabad, about 60 miles north of the capital Islamabad.
US reports said it was one of the largest in an affluent neighbourhood. Built around five years ago, it was estimated to be worth around a million dollars (£600,000).
Surrounded by 18ft walls topped by barbed wire, the only access was through two security gates. A third-floor terrace was shielded by a seven-foot privacy wall.
Suspicions are understood to have been roused by the fact that no phone lines or internet cables ran to the property and the residents burned their rubbish rather than putting it out for collection.
The premises were located close to a military academy.
US Navy Seals launched a helicopter raid on the compound and killed bin Laden and three other men, including one of his son's.
Four choppers swooped in a pre-drawn raid.
Pakistani officials and a witness said bin Laden's guards opened fire from the roof of the building and one of the choppers crashed. The sound of at least two explosions rocked the small north-western town of Abbottabad where the al Qaida chief made his last stand.
The US said no Americans were harmed in the raid.
Bin Laden's remains were taken into custody and American officials said they were being handled in accordance with Islamic tradition.
Abbottabad, home to at least one regiment of the Pakistani army, is dotted with military buildings and home to thousands of army personnel.
Surrounded by hills and with mountains in the distance, it is less than half a days drive from the border region with Afghanistan, where most intelligence assessments believed bin Laden was hiding.
Abbotabad resident Mohammad Haroon Rasheed said the raid happened at about 1.15am local time. "I heard a thundering sound, followed by heavy firing. Then firing suddenly stopped.
Then more thundering, then a big blast," he said. "In the morning when we went out to see what happened, some helicopter wreckage was lying in an open field."
A Pakistani official in the town said fighters on the roof opened fire on the choppers as they came close to the building with rocket propelled grenades.
Another official said four helicopters took off from the Ghazi air base in north-west Pakistan.
0 comments:
Post a Comment