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WASHINGTON/ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan – Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. assault on his Pakistani compound on Monday, then quickly buried at sea, in a dramatic end to the long manhunt for the al Qaeda leader who had become the most powerful symbol of global terrorism.
World leaders hailed bin Laden's death but the euphoria was tempered by fears of retaliation and warnings of the need for renewed vigilance against attacks.
The death of bin Laden, who achieved near-mythic status for his ability to elude capture under three U.S. presidents, closes a bitter chapter in the fight against al Qaeda, but it does not eliminate the threat of further attacks.
The September 11, 2001, attacks, in which al Qaeda militants used hijacked planes to strike at economic and military symbols of American might, spawned two wars, in Afghanistan and Iraq, inflicted damage on U.S. ties with the Muslim world that have yet to be repaired, and redefined security for air travelers.
A small U.S. strike team, dropped by helicopter to bin Laden's compound near the Pakistani capital Islamabad under the cover of night, shot dead the al Qaeda leader in a firefight, U.S. officials said.
"This was a kill operation," one security official told Reuters, but added: "If he had waved a white flag of surrender he would have been taken alive."
The revelation that bin Laden was living in a three-story residence in the military garrison town of Abbottabad, and not as many had speculated, in the country's lawless western border regions, is a huge embarrassment to Pakistan, whose relations with Washington have frayed under the Obama administration.
President Barack Obama, whose popularity suffered from continuing U.S. economic woes, will likely see a short-term bounce in his approval ratings. At the same time, he is likely to face mounting pressure from Americans to speed up the planned withdrawal this July of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
However, Bin Laden's death is unlikely to have any impact on the nearly decade-long war in Afghanistan, where U.S. forces are facing record violence by a resurgent Taliban.
Many analysts see bin Laden's death as largely symbolic since he was no longer believed to have been issuing operational orders to the many autonomous al Qaeda affiliates around the world.
Financial markets were more optimistic. The dollar and stocks rose, while oil and gold fell, on the view bin Laden's death reduced global security risks.
BURIED AT SEA, WARNINGS OF REVENGE
Within hours of the deadly raid, Bin Laden's body was buried at a sea to prevent his gravesite from becoming a rallying point for his followers, U.S. officials said. Muslim religious rites were conducted on the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier in North Arabian Sea, a defense official said.
"You wouldn't want to leave him so that his body could become a shrine," one U.S. official said.
Mindful of possible suspicion in the Muslim world that U.S. forces may have gotten the wrong man, a U.S. official said DNA testing showed a "virtually 100 percent" match with the al Qaeda leader. His body was also identified by one of his wives, an intelligence official said.
Fearful of revenge attacks, the United States swiftly issued security warnings to Americans worldwide.
CIA Director Leon Panetta said al Qaeda would "almost certainly" try to avenge bin Laden's death.
"Though Bin Laden is dead, al Qaeda is not. The terrorists almost certainly will attempt to avenge him, and we must -- and will -- remain vigilant and resolute," Panetta said.
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the killing as a coup in the fight against terrorism, but he, too, warned it did not spell al Qaeda's demise.
World leaders hailed bin Laden's death but the euphoria was tempered by fears of retaliation and warnings of the need for renewed vigilance against attacks.
The death of bin Laden, who achieved near-mythic status for his ability to elude capture under three U.S. presidents, closes a bitter chapter in the fight against al Qaeda, but it does not eliminate the threat of further attacks.
The September 11, 2001, attacks, in which al Qaeda militants used hijacked planes to strike at economic and military symbols of American might, spawned two wars, in Afghanistan and Iraq, inflicted damage on U.S. ties with the Muslim world that have yet to be repaired, and redefined security for air travelers.
A small U.S. strike team, dropped by helicopter to bin Laden's compound near the Pakistani capital Islamabad under the cover of night, shot dead the al Qaeda leader in a firefight, U.S. officials said.
"This was a kill operation," one security official told Reuters, but added: "If he had waved a white flag of surrender he would have been taken alive."
The revelation that bin Laden was living in a three-story residence in the military garrison town of Abbottabad, and not as many had speculated, in the country's lawless western border regions, is a huge embarrassment to Pakistan, whose relations with Washington have frayed under the Obama administration.
President Barack Obama, whose popularity suffered from continuing U.S. economic woes, will likely see a short-term bounce in his approval ratings. At the same time, he is likely to face mounting pressure from Americans to speed up the planned withdrawal this July of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
However, Bin Laden's death is unlikely to have any impact on the nearly decade-long war in Afghanistan, where U.S. forces are facing record violence by a resurgent Taliban.
Many analysts see bin Laden's death as largely symbolic since he was no longer believed to have been issuing operational orders to the many autonomous al Qaeda affiliates around the world.
Financial markets were more optimistic. The dollar and stocks rose, while oil and gold fell, on the view bin Laden's death reduced global security risks.
BURIED AT SEA, WARNINGS OF REVENGE
Within hours of the deadly raid, Bin Laden's body was buried at a sea to prevent his gravesite from becoming a rallying point for his followers, U.S. officials said. Muslim religious rites were conducted on the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier in North Arabian Sea, a defense official said.
"You wouldn't want to leave him so that his body could become a shrine," one U.S. official said.
Mindful of possible suspicion in the Muslim world that U.S. forces may have gotten the wrong man, a U.S. official said DNA testing showed a "virtually 100 percent" match with the al Qaeda leader. His body was also identified by one of his wives, an intelligence official said.
Fearful of revenge attacks, the United States swiftly issued security warnings to Americans worldwide.
CIA Director Leon Panetta said al Qaeda would "almost certainly" try to avenge bin Laden's death.
"Though Bin Laden is dead, al Qaeda is not. The terrorists almost certainly will attempt to avenge him, and we must -- and will -- remain vigilant and resolute," Panetta said.
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the killing as a coup in the fight against terrorism, but he, too, warned it did not spell al Qaeda's demise.