Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S.-led operation involving helicopters and ground forces in Pakistan on May 1. US officials said bin Laden was found in a million-dollar compound in the upscale town of Abbottabad, 60 km (35 miles) north of the Pakistani capital Islamabad. A source familiar with the operation said bin Laden was shot in the head.

“Justice has been done,” President Barack Obama declared in a hastily called, late-night White House speech announcing the death of Osama.

He added: “For over two decades, Bin Laden has been al-Qaeda’s leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of Bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al-Qaeda.

“Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must – and we will – remain vigilant at home and abroad.

“As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not – and never will be – at war with Islam.

Former US President Bill Clinton said: “This is a profoundly important moment not just for the families of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and in al-Qaeda’s other attacks but for people all over the world who want to build a common future of peace, freedom, and co-operation for our children.

“I congratulate the president, the National Security team and the members of our armed forces on bringing Osama bin Laden to justice after more than a decade of murderous al-Qaeda attacks.”

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: “The news that Osama Bin Laden is dead will bring great relief to people across the world.

“Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the worst terrorist atrocities the world has seen – for 9/11 and for so many attacks, which have cost thousands of lives, many of them British.

It is a great success that he has been found and will no longer be able to pursue his campaign of global terror.”

Leaders worldwide praised the killing as a dramatic success in the war against al Qaeda, although many analysts cautioned it was too soon to say bin Laden’s death would mark a turning point in the battle against a highly fractured network of militants.

Jubilant, flag-waving celebrations erupted in Washington and New York after Obama’s announcement. It was the ‘biggest national security victory’ for the president since he took office in early 2009 and could give him a political boost as he seeks re-election in 2012.

Obama may now also find it easier to wind down the nearly decade-old war in Afghanistan, begun after the 9/11. But the operation could complicate relations with Pakistan, already frayed over US drone strikes in the west of the country and the jailing of a CIA contractor accused of killing two Pakistani men.

A US official said Pakistani authorities were told the details of the raid after it had taken place.

The revelation bin Laden was living in style in a mansion will also put Pakistani officials under pressure to explain how he could have been right under their noses. Residents in Abbottabad said a Pakistani military training academy is near the compound.

“For some time there will be a lot of tension between Washington and Islamabad because bin Laden seems to have been living here close to Islamabad,” said Imtiaz Gul, a Pakistani security analyst.

US officials said American forces were led to the fortress-like three-storey building in Abbottabad after more than four years tracking one of bin Laden’s most trusted couriers, whom US officials said was identified by men captured after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Bin Laden was finally found after authorities discovered in August 2010 that the courier lived with his brother and their families in an unusual and extremely high-security building in Pakistan, officials said.

Bin Laden and three adult men, including a son of bin Laden, were killed along with a woman who was used as a shield by a male combatant, officials said.

The New York Times said bin Laden’s body was taken to Afghanistan and then buried at sea.

Resident Woken by Blasts

The operation took under 40 minutes. A US helicopter was gunned down. “After midnight, a large number of commandos encircled the compound. Three [four, according to another report] helicopters were hovering overhead,” Nasir Khan, a resident of the town was reported as saying.

“All of a sudden there was firing towards the helicopters from the ground. There was intense firing and then I saw one of the helicopters crash,” said Khan, who had watched the dramatic scene unfold from his rooftop.

Possible Reprisals

Bin Laden’s death triggered a travel alert for Americans worldwide, the US State Department said, warning of the potential for anti-American violence.

Thousands of people gathered outside the White House, waving American flags, cheering and chanting “USA, USA, USA.” Car drivers blew their horns in celebration and people streamed to Lafayette Park across from the street, as police vehicles with their lights flashing stood vigil.

Similar celebrations erupted at New York’s Ground Zero, site of the World Trade Centre twin towers felled by hijacked airplanes on Sept. 11.

Many Americans had given up hope of finding bin Laden after he vanished in the mountains of Afghanistan in late 2001.

Intelligence that originated last August provided the clues that eventually led to bin Laden’s trail, the president said. A US official said Obama gave the final order to pursue the operation last Friday morning.

“The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of men, women and children,” Obama said.

Captured Dead

Former President George W. Bush, who vowed to bring bin Laden to justice “dead or alive” but never did, called the operation a “momentous achievement” after Obama called him with the news.

Other experts were more cautious. “It changes little in terms of on-the-ground realities – by the time of his death bin Laden was not delivering operational or tactical orders to the numerous Al Qaeda affiliates across the world,” said Rick Nelson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Mixed Reactions to Bin Laden’s Death

No signs of rejoicing or happiness were reported in Mumbai and other major towns of Maharashtra, India, on May 2 to the news of the killing of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. The Khaleej Times cites some professionals from Indian cities.

Ramesh Sable, a senior editor at local news Marathi channel, laughed away when asked for his comments. “Who knows? The one they killed may not be the real Osama Bin Laden but one of his clones,” he said, adding that a firm confirmation is required to be believed that it was indeed Osama that was killed.

Prakash Dhotre, an IT professional at a multinational company in Mumbai, said it is hard to believe that Bin Laden had been killed. “How many times will the US kill Osama? And in my view unless peace prevails, the world will see hundreds of Osama Bin Laden,” he added.

Many do not believe that the killing of Bin Laden will cause any damage to his Al-Qaeda organisation. “Instead, Al-Qaeda will grow more stronger and create more trouble for the US and European forces,” said Rahul Sirsat, a political analyst who said that the “impotence” of Pakistani government has come to the fore when it allowed US forces to carry out an attack within Pakistan without prior approval.

Asked if he was happy with the killing of Bin Laden, Shafiq Qureshi, a economist in Mumbai university shot back: “Of course I am not happy and also have no reasons to be happy. The attack was a cowardly act done by the US with the active support and assistance of the Pakistani government led by an equally impotent president Asif Ali Zardari.”

The death of Osama Bin Laden was celebrated around the world as ‘a victory for justice’, but many people cautioned that it would not end terrorist attacks.

“Al-Qaeda will continue,” said Haroun Mir, an Afghan analyst in Kabul, who added that the death in a raid on a mansion in Pakistan vindicated longtime allegations by Afghanistan that Bin Laden enjoyed “safe havens” in the neighbouring country.

Chairul Akbar, secretary general of the anti-terrorism agency in Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim nation and a frequent Al-Qaeda target – expressed jubilation about the news.

Said Agil Siradj, chairman of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, said Bin Laden’s death will help restore the image of Islam as one of people, not violence and radicalism. “But I don’t think terrorism will stop with his death,” Saradj said. “As long as there is oppression and injustice against Muslims in Palestine it will continue.”

Brian Deegan, a lawyer from the southern Australian city of Adelaide who lost his 21-year-old son Josh in Al-Qaeda-linked bombings on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali in 2002, said he felt a “cold shiver” when learning about Bin Laden’s death on a car radio.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority said on Monday the killing of Bin Laden was “good for the cause of peace.”

“Getting rid of Bin Laden is good for the cause of peace worldwide but what counts is to overcome the discourse and the methods – the violent methods – that were created and encouraged by Bin Laden and others in the world,” PA spokesman Ghassan Khatib said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated the Bin Laden’s death as a triumph for Washington and its allies in their “war on terror.”

“This is a resounding triumph for justice, freedom and the values shared by all democratic nations fighting shoulder to shoulder in determination against terrorism,” Netanyahu said in a statement early on May 2.

President Shimon Peres, said Bin Laden had “met his end at the gallows.” Peres described the death as a lesson about the self-destructiveness of violent extremism.

“Look at all of the murderers, all of those dictators and terrorists. They end up murdering themselves – the real verdict of history, which to my regret takes a lot of time and exacts a lot of victims,” he told Israel Radio.

Kenya’s prime minister thanked the United States and Pakistan for the killing of Osama Bin Laden, describing the news as positive for the east African country struck by an Al-Qaeda attack more than a decade ago.

“Kenyans are happy and thank the US people, the Pakistani people and everybody else who managed to kill Osama,” Raila Odinga told Reuters.

“Osama’s death can only be positive for Kenya but we need to have a stable government in Somalia,” he said, referring to a four-year insurgency in neighbouring Somalia where Al-Qaeda linked rebels are fighting to topple the government.

Interpol Urges Vigilance

Extra vigilance will be needed to combat a heightened terrorism risk after following the killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, France-based international police agency Interpol said on May 2.

“The world’s most-wanted international terrorist is no more, but the death of bin Laden does not represent the demise of Al Qaeda affiliates and those inspired by al Qaeda, who have and will continue to engage in terrorist attacks around the world,” Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said.

“We therefore need to remain united and focused in our ongoing cooperation and fight, not only against this global threat but also against terrorism by any group anywhere.”