The killing of Osama bin Laden
- Date
- 2 May 2011
- Category
- Military & conflict
- Region
- Abbottabad, Pakistan
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
On 2 May 2011 (1 May in the US), US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda and architect of the September 11 attacks, during a covert night raid on his fortified compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Code-named Operation Neptune Spear and ordered by President Barack Obama, the CIA-led mission ended a nearly decade-long manhunt. Two stealth-modified Black Hawk helicopters carried SEAL Team Six from Afghanistan; bin Laden was shot dead in the compound, and his identity was confirmed by DNA analysis before his body was buried at sea. The raid was conducted unilaterally, without notifying Pakistan in advance, straining relations between the two countries and raising questions about how the world's most wanted man had lived undetected near a Pakistani military academy. His death was a symbolic milestone in the War on Terror, though al-Qaeda affiliates and successor groups persisted.
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Further reading
The wider story
India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy
Magisterial, readable history of the subcontinent since independence.
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