Osama killed by US forces with Pak cooperation, Obama Says

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama said Sunday night that an elite U.S. team killed America's No. 1 nemesis, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, in Abbottabad with Pakistan's cooperation, bringing to a close the world's highest-profile manhunt after a decadelong search.
"Justice has been done," the president said solemnly in a hastily arranged late-night TV address from the White House.
"Over the years, I've repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we've done," he told Americans who erupted in spontaneous applause in several US cities.
"But," Obama made it clear, "it's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding," "Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.
"Tonight, I called President (Asif Ali) Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against Al Qaeda and its affiliates."
Bin Laden, he said, "murdered thousands of innocent men, women and children" and his death was "the most significant achievement to date" in the U.S. war against the Al Qaeda terrorist network that bin Laden founded, led and inspired.
As described by the president and top administration officials, the successful effort to track down bin Laden centered on a man whom the officials described as a trusted courier for Al Qaeda, a protg of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed , the operational mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Obama said that after he had entered the White House in 2009, he ordered CIA Director Leon Panetta to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the "top priority of our war against Al Qaeda." Then in August he was briefed on "a possible lead" to the elusive terrorist's hiding place. "It took many months to run this thread to ground," he said.
A senior White House official said, the evidence had become sufficiently certain that Obama was able to give the go-ahead for the operation.
On Sunday, a "small team" of Americans raided a comfortable mansion with hall walls in Abbottabad After a firefight, the president said, they killed bin Laden. No Americans were injured in the raid.
Other officials said DNA tests had confirmed bin Laden's identity.
Obama praised the joint efforts of U.S. and Pakistani intelligence and appealed to Muslims around the globe to support the U.S. action.
"Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader," he said. "He was a mass murderer of Muslims."
Vice President Joe Biden and Panetta had called members of Congress and leaders around the world earlier Sunday night to break the long-awaited news.
As the first word of bin Laden's death leaked out, a jubilant and fast-growing crowd gathered outside the White House. The throng waved flags, chanted, "USA USA.
The news came months before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which were reportedly orchestrated by Al Qaeda. More than 3,000 people were killed.