Archbishop ‘uncomfortable’ over bin Laden killing

THE Archbishop of Canterbury said the killing of Osama bin Laden while he was not armed has left him with “a very uncomfortable feeling”.

Bin Laden was shot dead in his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and it later emerged he was unarmed when US commandos fired at him.

Speaking in response to a question at a press briefing this morning, Dr Rowan Williams said: “I think the killing of an unarmed man is always going to leave a very uncomfortable feeling because it doesn’t look as if justice is seen to be done.

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“In those circumstances I think it’s also true that the different versions of events that have emerged in recent days have not done a great deal to help.

“I don’t know the full details any more than anyone else does. But I do believe that in such circumstances when we are faced with someone who was manifestly a war criminal in terms of the atrocities inflicted, it is important that justice is seen to be served.”

His comments come after US President Barack Obama announced his decision not to release “graphic” images of bin Laden’s body for fear of encouraging reprisals.

While the pictures may have dispelled doubts that the terrorist mastermind was truly dead, Mr Obama said publishing them would be a “national security risk” and could incite “additional violence,” potentially becoming a “propaganda tool”.

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This followed warnings in both the UK and America of possible revenge attacks in the aftermath of the US special forces mission.

Sir Paul Stephenson, Britain’s most senior police officer, said terrorist action in the UK is now highly likely and could occur without warning at any time.

“Osama bin Laden led an organisation which is responsible for the injury and death of thousands of people worldwide in the name of an extreme and perverted ideology, committed to the use of terror and murder to achieve their aims,” he said.

“However, one man’s death does not mark the end of an ideology and we must remain alert to the continuing threat from al Qaida, its affiliates and those acting alone.”

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Meanwhile, radical cleric Anjem Choudary, a known supporter of bin Laden, is planning to spark fury by protesting against his killing outside the US Embassy in London.

The former UK leader of the outlawed al-Muhajiroun and member of the “poppy burning” Muslims Against Crusades extremist group has pledged to lead a “funeral prayer” and call on US authorities to return the body to relatives.

He has called on fellow extremists to join the demonstration tomorrow afternoon, having already warned of another 7/7-style terror attack after US forces stormed bin Laden’s compound in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad.

The revelation that he had been hiding in a military town, so close to Islamabad, fuelled speculation over whether elements within Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, had been sheltering the world’s most notorious terrorist.

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Pakistan, which was kept in the dark about the American operation, has now warned the US of “disastrous consequences” if it carries out any more unilateral raids against suspected terrorists on its soil.

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