The Americans who raided Osama bin Laden’s lair met far less resistance than the Obama administration described, new information released about the raid confirms.
Reports in the Australian said that although unarmed, bin Laden had an AK-47 and a pistol in his room, and was “not compliant”, a US official said.
“He had weapons in his room, more than one,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He was not compliant. He did not surrender.”
New details about the raid have confused, and in some cases contradicted, what was thought to be be known about the top-secret mission. Pakistan’s role in, or knowledge of, the incursion into their country is also unclear.
US officials have sought to clarify the precise details of the raids, which has garnered extensive international interest.
A senior defence source said today that the commandos encountered gunshots from only one man, whom they quickly killed, before sweeping the house and shooting others, who were unarmed.
In the latest revised telling, the Navy SEALs mounted a precision, floor-by-floor operation to find the al-Qai’da leader and his protectors, but without the prolonged and intense firefight that officials had described for several days.
By any measure, the raid was fraught with risk, sensationally bold and a historic success, netting a man who had been on the run for nearly a decade after his terrorist organisation pulled off the devastating attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
A senior defence official spoke to The Associated Press anonymously because he was not authorised to speak on the record. He said the sole bin Laden shooter in the Pakistan compound was killed in the early minutes of the commando operation, the latest of the details becoming clearer now that the Navy SEAL assault team has fully been debriefed by officials.
As the raiders moved into the compound from helicopters, they were fired on by bin Laden’s courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, who was in the guesthouse, the official said.
The SEALs returned fire, and the courier was killed, along with a woman with him. The official said she was hit in the crossfire.
Making their way up the stairs, they saw Bin Laden’s son, who “lunged” towards them, the New York Times reported. On the third floor, Bin Laden was shot in the chest and head.
The official insisted the US team faced an array of potential dangers by venturing into the hideout of al-Qa’ida’s mastermind, and were prepared for the possibility he and his comrades might be wearing suicide vests or have explosives planted ready to be triggered.
“It’s important to see the context,” he said.
President Obama is planning to go to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, today to meet aviators from the mission.
