Al-Qaeda Leader Osama bin Laden is Dead

Added by Nigel Shelbourne on May 3, 2011

US President Barack Obama has confirmed that Al-Qaeda founder and leader Osama bin Laden has been killed in an attack by US special forces who have seized his body.

 

The attack, carried out by a small US crack team, took place on a mansion in Abbottabad, Pakistan, some 65 km from the capital Islamabad .

“On nights like this one we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al-Qaeda terror, justice has been done,” President Obama said after the news broke.

He added that US intelligence had tracked the al-Qaeda leader to the Pakistani compound last August, but that the attack was postponed until the information could be confirmed.

“Last week I determined we had enough intelligence to take action,” Obama said, and on Sunday a small team of US special forces carried out the attack by helicopter.

While officials have stressed that the death of bin Laden does not mean that the threat of terrorism is over, Americans have taken to the streets celebrating the news.

A global travel alert has been issued by the US State Department, warning all Americans that that the death could spark “enhanced potential” for violence against America.