REUTERS - The U.S. special forces involved in the attack against the residence where Osama bin Laden was hiding were prepared to kill the leader of Al Qaeda, officials said Monday U.S. national security.
"It was an operation to kill. If he released the white flag to surrender, he was captured alive," said one official.But during the preparation of
the operation, the working hypothesis was that bin Laden and fought, what actually happened.
The Islamist leader has "participated" in exchange of gunfire between U.S. commandos and the occupants of the fortified residence in which he entrenched himself in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad, the official said.
Other officials said the clash lasted 40 minutes and that the al Qaeda leader had been shot in the head and chest and did not return fire.
Three other men and a woman were killed in the assault of American forces that have no loss in their ranks. A wife of Bin Laden, believed to be dead at first, is in fact injured.The woman killed in the raid was not used as human shields, an official said, correcting earlier statements.
Navy Seals
A senior U.S. administration has confirmed that the soldiers involved in the transaction knew that bin Laden would prefer to die rather than be captured alive.
"The U.S. troops do not seek to kill if there is a way to get a surrender in accordance with military rules of engagement.That said, I think the idea was widely shared that it would end with a death, "the official said.
The operation involved 15 members of special forces, mostly U.S. Navy Seals (elite unit of the Navy), who were based in Afghanistan, said an official familiar with the details of the attack.
Specialists in forensic medicine have also participated in the raid to recover evidence to prove the identity of bin Laden and hunt down information which other leaders of Al Qaeda or to foil the conspiracies being prepared.
According to the National Journal, U.S. authorities had used the information collected on the complex of Abbottabad to build a replica and conduct training sessions in early April.
In the hours that followed the death of Osama bin Laden by President Barack Obama, the commandos have surrounded the remains of Bin Laden at sea
This measure was taken so that the body of the leader of Al Qaeda does not become the object of a cult and it does not appear as a martyr for future activists.
The trail of a "mail"
The crucial information that helped track down bin Laden was provided during interrogations of activists detained by U.S. troops after the attacks of Sept. 11.
Some activists, many of which are held in military prison at Guantanamo, have informed U.S. intelligence on the existence of an "e" close to the Islamist leader.
Initially, U.S. officials did not know the names and activities of this messenger. His identity was discovered four years ago. Two years ago, another reliable information was obtained about the fact that this letter and his brother operated near Islamabad.
In August 2010, the United States end up unable to locate a residence in Abbottabad in which live two brothers, their families and a third larger family.
The residence is at the end of an unpaved road, not far from a military academy in Pakistan.Some residents are retired Pakistani officers.
Using photographs provided by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) from spy satellites and aircraft as well as plays the NSA, the CIA has concluded that the residence was equipped with safety means unusual. It also appeared that its occupants were taking precautions also unusual.
In early 2011, the CIA became convinced that a target "important" was in the residence of Abbottabad and the probability was high whether bin Laden. The CIA, however, has never had the "absolute certainty" that the leader of Al Qaeda was actually in residence, said an official.
