Editing Osama bin Laden (section)

== Manhunt and activities after the September 11 attacks ==
=== Bush administration ===
{{Main|Manhunt for Osama bin Laden}}
[[File:A bounty leaflect prepared by the USA for use in Afghanistan (front) -a.jpg|thumb|A leaflet made by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] which was distributed in Afghanistan, showing a bounty for Bin Laden|left]]
In response to the attacks, the United States launched the [[war on terror]] to depose the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and capture al-Qaeda operatives, and several countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation to preclude future attacks. The CIA's [[Special Activities Division]] was given the lead in tracking down and killing or capturing Bin Laden.<ref>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Greg |date=14 July 2009 |title=CIA's secret program: paramilitary teams to strike Al Qaeda |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jul-14-na-cia-cheney14-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205200538/http://articles.latimes.com/print/2009/jul/14/nation/na-cia-cheney14 |archive-date=5 February 2016 |access-date=19 June 2020 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=A1}}</ref> U.S. officials named Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda organization as the prime suspects and offered a reward of $25&nbsp;million for information leading to his capture or death.<ref name="fbiwantednotice">{{cite web |title=Most Wanted Terrorist – Usama Bin Laden |url=https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/terbinladen.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060310055924/http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/terbinladen.htm |archive-date=10 March 2006 |access-date=26 May 2010 |publisher=FBI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/page2/nov03/laden110503.htm |title=Five Years Ago Today – Usama Bin Laden: Wanted for Murder |publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation |date=5 November 2003 |access-date=27 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109080055/http://www.fbi.gov/page2/nov03/laden110503.htm |archive-date=9 January 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> On 13 July 2007, the Senate voted to double the reward to $50&nbsp;million, although the amount was never changed.<ref name="BBCJuly07">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6898075.stm |title=Senate doubles Bin Laden reward |work=BBC News |date=13 July 2007 |access-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808104324/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6898075.stm |archive-date=8 August 2010 }}</ref> The [[Airline Pilots Association]] and the [[Air Transport Association]] offered an additional $2&nbsp;million reward.<ref>{{Cite news |author1=Katie Turner |author2=Pam Benson |author3=Peter Bergen |author4=Elise Labott |author5=Nic Robertson |publisher=CNN |date=24 September 2006 |access-date=25 May 2010 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/23/france.binladen/index.html |title=Officials, friends can't confirm Bin Laden death report |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326042339/http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/09/23/france.binladen/index.html |archive-date=26 March 2010 }}</ref>

While referring to Bin Laden in a [[CNN]] film clip on 17 September 2001, then-President George W. Bush stated, "I want justice. There is an old poster out west, as I recall, that said, 'Wanted: Dead or alive'".<ref>{{cite news |date=2 May 2011 |title=2001, President George W. Bush 'Bin Laden, Wanted dead or alive' |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFgn4EaCGQA |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722005532/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFgn4EaCGQA |archive-date=22 July 2013 |access-date=7 January 2012 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> Subsequently, Bin Laden retreated further from public contact to avoid capture. Numerous speculative press reports were issued about his whereabouts or even death; some placed Bin Laden in different locations during overlapping time periods.

On 10 October 2001, Bin Laden appeared as well on the initial list of the top 22 [[FBI Most Wanted Terrorists]], which was released to the public by the George W. Bush administration and based on the indictment for the 1998 embassy attack. Bin Laden was among a group of 13 fugitive terrorists wanted on that latter list for questioning about the 1998 attack. He remains the only fugitive ever to be listed on both FBI fugitive lists.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} Despite these multiple indictments, the Taliban refused to extradite Osama bin Laden. However, they did offer to try him before an Islamic court if evidence of Osama bin Laden's involvement in the September 11 attacks was provided. It was not until eight days after the bombing of Afghanistan began in October 2001 that the Taliban finally did offer to turn over Osama bin Laden to a third-party country for trial, in return for the U.S. ending the bombing. This offer was rejected by George W. Bush, stating that this was no longer negotiable: "there's no need to discuss innocence or guilt. We know he's guilty."<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 October 2001 |title=Bush rejects Taliban offer to hand Bin Laden over |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/14/afghanistan.terrorism5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825195435/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/14/afghanistan.terrorism5 |archive-date=25 August 2013 |access-date=27 May 2010 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>
{{Multiple images
| image1            = Delta force GIs disguised as Afghan civilians, November 2001 C.jpg
| caption1          = [[Delta Force]] GIs disguised as Afghan civilians, while they searched for Bin Laden in November 2001
| image2            = Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri 2001.jpg
| caption2          = Bin Laden and [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] in Kabul, Afghanistan, in November 2001
| direction         = vertical
| align             = right
}}
Bin Laden was believed to be hiding in the [[Spin Ghar|White Mountains (Spin Ghar)]] in Afghanistan's east, near the [[Durand Line|Pakistani border]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CPRT-111SPRT53709/html/CPRT-111SPRT53709.htm|title=Tora Bora Revisited: How We Failed to Get Bin Laden and Why It Matters Today|access-date=24 July 2021|archive-date=20 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120161725/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CPRT-111SPRT53709/html/CPRT-111SPRT53709.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1006946289469823000|title = As the Search for Bin Laden Intensifies, U.S. Moves Hunt to Spin Ghar Range|newspaper = Wall Street Journal|date = 29 November 2001|access-date = 24 July 2021|archive-date = 24 July 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210724164258/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1006946289469823000|url-status = live}}</ref> According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', the US government concluded that Bin Laden was present during the [[Battle of Tora Bora]], Afghanistan, in late 2001, and according to civilian and military officials with first-hand knowledge, failure by the U.S. to commit enough U.S. ground troops to hunt him led to his escape and was the gravest failure by the U.S. in the war against al-Qaeda. Intelligence officials assembled what they believed to be decisive evidence, from contemporary and subsequent interrogations and intercepted communications, that Bin Laden began the Battle of Tora Bora inside the cave complex along Afghanistan's mountainous eastern border.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Gellman |first1=Barton |last2=Ricks |first2=Thomas E. |title=U.S. Concludes Bin Laden Escaped at Tora Bora Fight |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62618-2002Apr16 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080516112147/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62618-2002Apr16 |url-status=dead |archive-date= 16 May 2008 |date=17 April 2002 |access-date=25 May 2010 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

On 11 December 2005, a letter from [[Atiyah Abd al-Rahman]] to [[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]] indicated that Bin Laden and the al-Qaeda leadership were based in the [[Waziristan]] region of Pakistan at the time. In the letter, translated by the United States military's [[Combating Terrorism Center]] at [[West Point]], Atiyah instructs al-Zarqawi to send messengers to Waziristan so that they meet with the brothers of the leadership. Al-Rahman also indicates that Bin Laden and al-Qaeda are weak and have many of their own problems. The letter has been deemed authentic by military and counterterrorism officials, according to ''The Washington Post''.<ref>{{cite news |last=DeYoung |first=Karen |date=2 October 2006 |title=Letter Gives Glimpse of Al-Qaeda's Leadership |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100101083.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425085210/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100101083.html |archive-date=25 April 2010 |access-date=20 May 2010 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=25 September 2006 |title=Letter Exposes New Leader in Al-Qa'ida High Command (PDF) |url=http://www.ctc.usma.edu/harmony/CTC-AtiyahLetter.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808182757/http://www.ctc.usma.edu/harmony/CTC-AtiyahLetter.pdf |archive-date=8 August 2007 |access-date=20 May 2010 |publisher=Combating Terrorism Center at West Point}}</ref>

''The Washington Post'' also reported that the CIA unit composed of special operations paramilitary forces dedicated to capturing Bin Laden was shut down in late 2005.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/04/AR2006070400375.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=CIA Reportedly Disbands Bin Laden Unit |agency=Associated Press |date=4 July 2006 |access-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112023538/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/04/AR2006070400375.html |archive-date=12 November 2012 }}</ref>

U.S. and Afghanistan forces raided the mountain caves in [[Tora Bora]] between 14 and 16 August 2007. The military was drawn to the area after receiving intelligence of a pre-[[Ramadan]] meeting held by al-Qaeda members. After killing dozens of al-Qaeda and Taliban members, they did not find either Bin Laden or al-Zawahiri.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21000298 |title=Bin Laden may have just escaped U.S. forces |publisher=NBC News |author1=Justin Balding |author2=Adam Ciralsky |author3=Jim Miklaszewski |author4=Robert Windrem |date=26 September 2007 |access-date=25 May 2010 |archive-date=11 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011041830/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21000298/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Al-Qaeda continued to release time-sensitive and professionally verified videos demonstrating Bin Laden's continued survival, including in August 2007.<ref>{{cite news |date=6 September 2007 |title=Experts warn of attack clues in Bin Laden video |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h_EKAnlECgMVCrglrdYA5IqvQ6hQ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408035426/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h_EKAnlECgMVCrglrdYA5IqvQ6hQ |archive-date=8 April 2008 |access-date=25 May 2010 |agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref> He claimed sole responsibility for the September 11 attacks and specifically denied any prior knowledge of them by the Taliban or the Afghan people.<ref>{{cite news |date=29 November 2007 |title=Bin Laden urges Europe to quit Afghanistan |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL2912911920071129?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112053348/http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL2912911920071129?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 |archive-date=12 January 2009 |work=Reuters}}</ref>

=== Obama administration ===
On 7 October 2008, in the [[2008 United States presidential debates|second debate]] of that year's U.S. presidential election, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged, "We will kill Bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority."<ref name="ToraBora">{{cite news |last=Arena |first=Kelli |title=Obama administration to ratchet up hunt for Bin Laden |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/12/binladen.hunt/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119085751/http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-12/politics/binladen.hunt|url-status=live|archive-date=19 January 2013 |publisher=CNN |access-date=15 November 2008 |date=28 December 2001}}</ref> Upon being elected, Obama expressed his plans to renew and ramp up the U.S. search for Bin Laden.<ref name="ToraBora" /> Obama rejected the Bush administration's policy on Bin Laden that conflated all terror threats from al-Qaeda to [[Hamas]] to [[Hezbollah]], replacing it with a covert, narrow focus on al-Qaeda and its direct affiliates.<ref>{{cite news |last=Serwer |first=Adam |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/no-killing-of-bin-laden-does-not-represent-continuity-with-bush/2011/03/04/AFJbo3YG_blog.html |title=No, killing of Bin Laden does not represent 'continuity' with Bush – The Plum Line |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=7 February 2011 |access-date=15 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512022810/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/no-killing-of-bin-laden-does-not-represent-continuity-with-bush/2011/03/04/AFJbo3YG_blog.html |archive-date=12 May 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hirsh|first=Michael |author-link=Michael Hirsh (journalist) |url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/columns/vantage-point/obama-s-war-against-al-qaida-20110505 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507100857/http://www.nationaljournal.com/columns/vantage-point/obama-s-war-against-al-qaida-20110505 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 May 2011 |title=Obama's War |date=5 May 2011 |work=National Journal |access-date=15 May 2011 }}</ref>

{{Multiple images
| direction         = vertical
| image1            = Osama bin Laden compound1.jpg
| caption1          = [[Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad|Bin Laden's compound]] in [[Abbottabad, Pakistan]]
| image2            = Osama bin Laden hideout-en.svg
| caption2          = A diagram of the compound
| total_width       = 300
}}

In 2009, a research team led by [[Thomas Gillespie (geographer)|Thomas Gillespie]] and [[John A. Agnew]] of [[UCLA]] used satellite-aided geographical analysis to pinpoint three compounds in [[Parachinar]] as Bin Laden's likely hideouts.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gillespie |first=Thomas W. |display-authors=etal |year=2009 |title=Finding Osama bin Laden: An Application of Biogeographic Theories and Satellite Imagery |url=http://web.mit.edu/mitir/2009/online/finding-bin-laden.pdf |url-status=live |journal=MIT International Review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100805125236/http://web.mit.edu/mitir/2009/online/finding-bin-laden.pdf |archive-date=5 August 2010 |access-date=20 May 2010}}</ref> In March 2009, the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' reported that the hunt for Bin Laden had centered in the [[Chitral District]] of Pakistan, including the [[Kalam Valley]]. Author [[Rohan Gunaratna]] stated that captured al-Qaeda leaders had confirmed that Bin Laden was hiding in Chitral.<ref>Meek, James Gordon, "Tighten The Net on Evil", ''[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]'', 2009-03-15, p. 27.</ref> Pakistan's Prime Minister [[Yousaf Raza Gillani|Gillani]] rejected claims that Osama bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news |date=3 December 2009 |title=Bin Laden not in Pakistan, PM says |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/03/pakistan.bin.laden/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206225704/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/03/pakistan.bin.laden/index.html |archive-date=6 December 2009 |access-date=20 May 2010 |publisher=CNN}}</ref>

Early in December 2009, a Taliban detainee in Pakistan said he had information that Bin Laden was in Afghanistan that year; he said that in January or February 2009, he met a trusted contact who had seen Bin Laden in Afghanistan about 15 to 20 days earlier.<ref name=":5">{{cite news |date=6 December 2009 |title=No Bin Laden information in years, says Gates |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8397684.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206051926/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8397684.stm |archive-date=6 December 2009 |access-date=20 May 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref> However, on 6 December 2009, U.S. Secretary of Defense [[Robert Gates]] stated that the United States had had no reliable information on the whereabouts of Bin Laden in years.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> On 9 December, General [[Stanley McChrystal]], the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said that al-Qaeda would not be defeated unless Bin Laden were captured or killed, thus indicating that the U.S. high command believed that he was still alive. Testifying to the U.S. Congress, he said that Bin Laden had become an iconic figure, whose survival emboldens al-Qaeda as a franchising organization across the world, and that Obama's deployment of 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan meant that success would be possible. He said killing or capturing Bin Laden would not spell the end of al-Qaeda, but the movement could not be eradicated while he remained at large.<ref name=":6">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8402138.stm |title=Gen McChrystal: Bin Laden is key to al-Qaeda defeat |work=BBC News |date=9 December 2009 |access-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100428192959/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8402138.stm |archive-date=28 April 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=9 December 2009 |title=Gen McChrystal: Bin Laden is key to al-Qaeda defeat |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8402138.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723112633/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8402138.stm |archive-date=23 July 2012 |access-date=21 October 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

In a 2010 letter, Bin Laden chastised followers who had reinterpreted ''al-tatarrus''—an Islamic doctrine meant to excuse the unintended killing of non-combatants in unusual circumstances—to justify routine massacres of Muslim civilians, which had turned Muslims against the extremist movement. Of the groups affiliated with al-Qaeda, Bin Laden condemned [[Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan]] for an attack on members of a hostile tribe, declaring that the operation is not justified, as there were casualties of noncombatants. Bin Laden wrote that the ''tatarrus'' doctrine needs to be revisited based on the modern-day context and clear boundaries established. He asked a subordinate to draw up a jihadist code of conduct that would constrain military operations in order to avoid civilian casualties. In Yemen, Bin Laden urged his allies to seek a truce that would bring the country stability, or would at least show the people that they were careful in keeping Muslims safe on the basis of peace. In Somalia, he called attention to the extreme poverty caused by constant warfare, and he advised [[Al-Shabaab (militant group)|al-Shabab]] to pursue economic development. He instructed his followers around the world to focus on education and persuasion rather than entering into confrontations with Islamic political parties.<ref>{{cite news |last=Saletan |first=William |author-link=William Saletan |date=4 May 2012 |title=Reflections of a Terrorist |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/05/bin_laden_s_documents_al_qaida_letters_show_the_moral_and_political_failure_of_terrorism_.single.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506033547/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/05/bin_laden_s_documents_al_qaida_letters_show_the_moral_and_political_failure_of_terrorism_.single.html |archive-date=6 May 2012 |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]}}</ref>

On 2 February 2010, Afghan president [[Hamid Karzai]] arrived in Saudi Arabia for an official visit. The agenda included a discussion of a possible Saudi role in Karzai's plan to reintegrate Taliban militants. During the visit, an anonymous official of the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Saudi Arabia)|Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry]] declared that the kingdom had no intention of getting involved in peacemaking in Afghanistan unless the Taliban severed ties with extremists and expelled Osama bin Laden.<ref name="Expel">{{cite news |date=2 February 2010 |title=Saudi Arabia Wants Taliban to Expel Bin Laden |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/saudi-arabia-wants-taliban-to-expel-bin-laden/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214053455/https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/saudi-arabia-wants-taliban-to-expel-bin-laden/ |archive-date=14 February 2021 |access-date=11 February 2011 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> On 7 June 2010, the Kuwaiti newspaper ''[[Al-Seyassah]]'' reported that Bin Laden was hiding out in the mountainous town of [[Sabzevar]], in northeastern Iran.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 June 2010 |title=Kuwaiti Daily 'Al-Siyassa': Bin Laden, Al-Zawahiri Guarded by Iranian Troops in Iranian Territory |url=http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/report.htm?report=4338 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613123449/http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/report.htm?report=4338 |archive-date=13 June 2010 |access-date=26 January 2011 |publisher=Memrijttm.org}}</ref> On 9 June, ''[[The Australian]]'''s online edition repeated the claim.<ref>{{cite news |date=9 June 2010 |title=Bin Laden, aides 'hiding in Iran' |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/bin-laden-aides-hiding-in-iran/story-fn3dxity-1225877288776 |work=The Australian}}</ref> This report turned out to be false.

On 18 October 2010, an unnamed [[NATO]] official suggested that Bin Laden was alive, well, and living comfortably in Pakistan, protected by elements of the country's intelligence services. A senior Pakistani official denied the allegations and said that the accusations were designed to put pressure on the Pakistani government ahead of talks aimed at strengthening ties between Pakistan and the U.S.<ref>{{cite news |last=Crilly |first=Rob |date=18 October 2010 |title=Osama bin Laden 'living comfortably in Pakistan' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8070836/Osama-bin-Laden-living-comfortably-in-Pakistan.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020044227/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8070836/Osama-bin-Laden-living-comfortably-in-Pakistan.html |archive-date=20 October 2010 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}</ref>

In April 2011, various U.S. intelligence outlets traced Bin Laden to [[Abbottabad]], Pakistan. It was previously believed that he was hiding near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan's [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas]], but he was found {{convert|100|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} away in a three-story [[Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad|mansion in Abbottabad]] at {{Coord|34|10|9.51|N|73|14|32.78|E|scale:10|display=inline}},<ref name="ZengerleBull">{{cite news |last=Zengerle |first=Patricia |author2=Bull, Alister |date=2 May 2011 |title=Bin Laden was found at luxurious Pakistan compound |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-binladen-compound-idUSTRE7411NX20110502 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503050450/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/02/us-binladen-compound-idUSTRE7411NX20110502 |archive-date=3 May 2011 |access-date=2 May 2011 |work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/osama-bin-laden-pakistan-locals-flock-house Osama bin Laden death: Pakistan locals flock to see villain's lair] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927193629/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/osama-bin-laden-pakistan-locals-flock-house|date=27 September 2016}} Declan Walsh ''[[The Guardian]]'' 5 May 2011</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2 May 2011 |title=Map of Where Osama bin Laden Was Killed – Map |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/02/world/asia/abbottabad-map-of-where-osama-bin-laden-was-killed.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505205356/http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/05/02/world/asia/abbottabad-map-of-where-osama-bin-laden-was-killed.html |archive-date=5 May 2011 |access-date=2 May 2011 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> {{convert|0.8|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} southwest of the [[Pakistan Military Academy]].<ref>{{cite news |date=7 June 2011 |title=Osama bin Laden's death: How it happened |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13257330 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503041240/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13257330 |archive-date=3 May 2011 |access-date=2 May 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2 May 2011 |title=Osama bin Laden, the face of terror, killed in Pakistan |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/01/bin.laden.obit/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506084553/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/01/bin.laden.obit/index.html |archive-date=6 May 2011 |access-date=2 May 2011 |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2 May 2011 |title=Spitzer: What role did Pakistan play in the killing of Osama bin Laden? – In the Arena |url=http://inthearena.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/02/spitzer-what-role-did-pakistan-play-in-the-killing-of-osama-bin-laden/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505062124/http://inthearena.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/02/spitzer-what-role-did-pakistan-play-in-the-killing-of-osama-bin-laden/ |archive-date=5 May 2011 |access-date=2 May 2011 |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=President Obama Praises Troops Who Killed Osama bin Laden |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/osama-bin-laden-death-prompts-celebrations-security-alerts/story?id=13507836 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504001033/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/osama-bin-laden-death-prompts-celebrations-security-alerts/story?id=13507836 |archive-date=4 May 2011 |access-date=2 May 2011 |publisher=ABC news}}</ref> Imagery from [[Google Earth]] indicates that the compound was built between 2001 and 2005.<ref>{{cite web |date=2 May 2011 |title=Finding Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad mansion with Google Earth |url=http://ogleearth.com/2011/05/finding-osama-bin-ladens-abbottabad-mansion-with-google-earth/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107150234/http://ogleearth.com/2011/05/finding-osama-bin-ladens-abbottabad-mansion-with-google-earth/ |archive-date=7 November 2012 |access-date=31 October 2012}}</ref>