Al Qaida leader and mastermind of the 9/11 attacks Osama bin Laden is dead confirmed by President Barack Obama in an address to the nation just moments ago.
The U.S. forces killed bin Laden and took possession of his body earlier tonight during an operation specifically conducted to capture and kill Bin Laden.
Obama said in a 9 p.m. press conference that he was briefed last August on a possible lead to bin Laden’s location inside a compound deep inside Pakistan. Last week Obama and his national security team determined they had enough intelligence to authorize and launch an operation against bin Laden.
Earlier tonight bin Laden was killed within that compound in Abbottabad Pakistan north of Islamabad. No Americans were harmed in the operation and the effort against bin Laden took care to avoid civilian casualties according to Obama.
An initial report of a drone missile strike as the cause of bin Laden’s death has since been dismissed.
President Obama described the death of bin Laden as “the most significant achievement to date” in our nation’s attempt to defeat Al Qaida. He stated that this is not the end of our fight against terrorism and that we “must and will remain vigilant at home and abroad.”
Obama emphasized that the United States is not at war against Muslims stating that bin Laden was “not a Muslim leader he was a mass murderer of Muslims.”
The President also called Americans to remain united and to remember the families of those who lost loved ones during the 9/11 attacks.
Bin Laden’s death comes on the eight year anniversary of former President George W. Bush’s “mission accomplished” speech aboard the USS Lincoln.