Obama declares bin Laden killed in firefight with US forces

US president says al Qaida leader was hiding in a compound inside Pakistan when he was killed; no Americans killed in operation; "Justice has been done," Obama says"; thousands gather outside White House.

By REUTERS
Osama Bin Laden 311 (photo credit: REUTERS/Stringer/Files )
Osama Bin Laden 311
(photo credit: REUTERS/Stringer/Files )
Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed Monday in a firefight with US forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, US President Barack Obama said on Monday.
"Justice has been done," Obama said in a dramatic, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people.
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It is was major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team and could give him a political boost as he seeks re-election in 2012.
And it was at least a huge symbolic blow to al Qaida, the terror organization that has staged bloody attacks in many western and Arab countries cities and has been the subject of a worldwide campaign against it.
Obama said US forces led a targeted operation that killed bin Laden in Abbotabad north of Islamabad. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said.
In Washington, thousands of people gathered quickly 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 presidential mansion. Police vehicles with their lights flashing stood vigil.
"I'm down here to witness the history. My boyfriend is commissioning as a Marine next week. So I'm really proud of the troops," Laura Vogler, a junior at American University in Washington, said outside the White House.
Many Americans had given up hope of ever finding bin Laden after he vanished in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan in late 2001 as US and allied forces invaded the country in response to the Sept. 11 attacks.
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 Qaida and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of men, women and children," Obama said.
A crowd gathered in Lafayette Park outside the White House erupted in jubilation at the news. Hundreds of people waved flags, hugged and cheered.
Former President George W. Bush, who famously 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.
Martin Indyk, a former US assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, described bin Laden's death as "a body blow" to al Qaida at a time when its ideology was already being undercut by the popular revolutions in the Arab world.
Statements of appreciation poured in from both sides of Washington's often divided political divide. Republican Senator John McCain declared, "I am overjoyed that we finally got the world's top terrorist."