Justice is done as bin Laden pays with his life

The world’s most notorious terrorist, who inspired numerous atrocities from the 9/11 attacks in America to the July 7 bombings in London, was killed during a 40-minute battle.

The covert operation was carried out without the knowledge of the Pakistan authorities, as Blackhawk helicopters carrying the US Navy’s Seal Team Six counter-terrorism unit flew in under the range of radar before attacking the compound.

His body was swiftly buried at sea, with officials acknowledging it would have been difficult to find a country prepared to accept the remains of such an infamous figure.

Officials said that his identity was confirmed with “99.9 per cent confidence” by DNA testing after he was killed by a shot to the head.

President Barack Obama said the operation had been carried out by a “small team of Americans” acting with “extraordinary courage and capability”.

“On nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al-Qaida’s terror: justice has been done,” he said. “The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to.”

It marked the end of an international manhunt lasting more than a decade for the elusive figurehead behind a campaign of Islamist violence which has sparked wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and claimed thousands of lives around the world.

The announcement of his death sparked jubilant celebrations in America, with crowds gathering outside the White House and at Ground Zero where the Twin Towers had stood in New York.

David Cameron, who was telephoned by Mr Obama in the early hours of yesterday to be told the news, said it was “a massive step forward” which would be welcomed throughout the UK.

“Of course, nothing will bring back those loved ones that families have lost to terror. But at least they know the man who was responsible for these appalling acts is no more,” he said.

While it had long been suspected that he had been hiding in Pakistan, there was surprise that bin Laden was finally tracked down to a large complex close to a leading military academy.

The discovery that he was living in the garrison town of Abbottabad, rather than the lawless tribal areas of the North West frontier, prompted fresh suspicions that he was being protected by Pakistan’s ISI intelligence agency – elements of which have long believed to be sympathetic to al-Qaida.

There were angry claims from Afghanistan that its own position has been vindicated as Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, hinted that Pakistan was complicit in sheltering the terrorist leader. He said counter-insurgency operations had focused too much in Afghanistan.Pakistan’s High Commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, insisted that his country’s authorities had not known of bin Laden’s whereabouts prior to the attack.

“Nobody knew that Osama bin Laden was there – no security agency, no Pakistani authorities knew about it. Had we known it we would have done it ourselves.”

US officials said that as well as bin Laden, three other men, including his adult son and two suspected al-Qaida couriers, and a woman who was being used as a human shield, died during the raid.

How they tracked down terror boss

The mission to kill Osama bin Laden marked the culmination of years of patient intelligence work.

Officials said they had known that bin Laden had a trusted al-Qaida courier who was living with him in hiding. They identified where he and his brother operated and last August tracked down their residence to a large house in an affluent part of Abbottabad.

Although an expensive property, it had no internet or telephone connections, and the owners had no source of income, fuelling suspicions about its true purpose. By mid-February, the intelligence was clear enough for Mr Obama to seek to pursue “an aggressive course of action” to get bin Laden.

He led five meetings of the National Security Council before formally giving the go-ahead on Friday