Osama Bin Laden
Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed on Sunday in a firefight with US forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, and then buried at sea.
“Justice has been done,” President Obama said in a dramatic White House speech announcing the death of the elusive terrorist.
An American official said US forces administered Muslim religious rites for bin in Laden aboard an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.
“Today religious rights were conducted for the deceased on the deck of the USS Carl-Vinson which is located in the North Arabian Sea,” a senior defense official said. “Traditional procedures for Islamic burial were followed. The deceased’s body was washed and then placed in a white sheet. The body was placed in a weighted bag. A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat-board... (and) eased into the sea.”
However, a spokesman for Al-Azhar, the top Sunni Muslim authority said Islam is opposed to burials at sea.
“If it is true that the body was thrown into the sea, then Islam is totally against that,” Mahmud Azab, an adviser to the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, told Agence-France Presse.
Bin Laden’s death occurred almost a decade after the September 11 attacks that he orchestrated against the US, killing thousands in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The news electrified the world community, and brought jubilation in countries that have suffered from terrorism perpetuated by Mr. bin Laden’s organization, Al-Qaeda. Leaders worldwide praised the killing as a dramatic success in the war against Al-Qaeda, a mood reflected in financial markets. The dollar and stocks rose, while oil and gold fell, on the view Mr. bin Laden's death reduced global security risks.
A crowd gathered outside the White House to celebrate, chanting, “USA, USA,” according to Reuters.
President Obama said US forces led the operation that killed bin Laden. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said. The US Special Forces team—consisting of Navy SEALS—that hunted down Osama bin Laden was under orders to kill the Al-Qaeda mastermind, not capture him, a US national security official told Reuters.
“This was a kill operation,” the official said, making clear there was no desire to try to capture bin Laden alive in Pakistan.
“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,” President Obama said.
DNA tests on the body of bin Laden showed a virtual 100 percent match to relatives, and a woman believed to be his wife also identified him by name, a senior US intelligence official told reporters.
The United States was now reviewing a large cache of materials seized at the compound in Pakistan where US forces killed bin Laden, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to reporters.
It was a major accomplishment for Mr. Obama and his national security team, after many Americans had given up hope of ever finding bin Laden. Some speculated that he was already dead of renal failure, and that his associates had sustained the illusion of his being alive in order to flummox pursuers such as the US.
“Justice has been done,” President Obama said in a dramatic White House speech announcing the death of the elusive terrorist.
An American official said US forces administered Muslim religious rites for bin in Laden aboard an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.
“Today religious rights were conducted for the deceased on the deck of the USS Carl-Vinson which is located in the North Arabian Sea,” a senior defense official said. “Traditional procedures for Islamic burial were followed. The deceased’s body was washed and then placed in a white sheet. The body was placed in a weighted bag. A military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat-board... (and) eased into the sea.”
However, a spokesman for Al-Azhar, the top Sunni Muslim authority said Islam is opposed to burials at sea.
“If it is true that the body was thrown into the sea, then Islam is totally against that,” Mahmud Azab, an adviser to the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, told Agence-France Presse.
Bin Laden’s death occurred almost a decade after the September 11 attacks that he orchestrated against the US, killing thousands in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
The news electrified the world community, and brought jubilation in countries that have suffered from terrorism perpetuated by Mr. bin Laden’s organization, Al-Qaeda. Leaders worldwide praised the killing as a dramatic success in the war against Al-Qaeda, a mood reflected in financial markets. The dollar and stocks rose, while oil and gold fell, on the view Mr. bin Laden's death reduced global security risks.
A crowd gathered outside the White House to celebrate, chanting, “USA, USA,” according to Reuters.
President Obama said US forces led the operation that killed bin Laden. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said. The US Special Forces team—consisting of Navy SEALS—that hunted down Osama bin Laden was under orders to kill the Al-Qaeda mastermind, not capture him, a US national security official told Reuters.
“This was a kill operation,” the official said, making clear there was no desire to try to capture bin Laden alive in Pakistan.
“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,” President Obama said.
DNA tests on the body of bin Laden showed a virtual 100 percent match to relatives, and a woman believed to be his wife also identified him by name, a senior US intelligence official told reporters.
The United States was now reviewing a large cache of materials seized at the compound in Pakistan where US forces killed bin Laden, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to reporters.
It was a major accomplishment for Mr. Obama and his national security team, after many Americans had given up hope of ever finding bin Laden. Some speculated that he was already dead of renal failure, and that his associates had sustained the illusion of his being alive in order to flummox pursuers such as the US.
Its good to see that the father of terrorism has been killed and the world should be a far better place now that he is gone.
ReplyDeleteThis is the best thing that has happen for world and most of all America,now the terrorism that America face when it comes to the bombing or any other destruction.
ReplyDelete