Latest: only one man was armed
May 6, 2011, Friday
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ONLY one of the five people killed in the raid that got Osama bin Laden was armed and fired a shot, a senior US defense official said yesterday, acknowledging that the latest account of what happened differs greatly from original portrayals of a chaotic, intense and prolonged firefight.
The sole shooter in the al-Qaida leader's Pakistani compound was killed in the early minutes of the commando operation, details that have become clearer now that the Navy SEAL assault team has been debriefed, the official said.
He said the raid should be described as a precision, floor-by-floor operation to hunt and find the al-Qaida leader and his protectors, rather than as it had been portrayed in a series of briefings since bin Laden's death was announced.
As the Navy SEALs moved into bin Laden's compound, they were fired on by bin Laden's courier, who was in the guesthouse, the official said. The SEALs returned fire, and the courier was killed, along with a woman with him. The official said she was hit in the crossfire.
The Americans were never fired on again as they encountered and killed a man on the first floor and then bin Laden's son on a staircase, before arriving at bin Laden's room. Officials have said bin Laden was killed after he appeared to be lunging for a weapon.
White House and Defense Department and CIA officials through the week have offered various versions of the operation, though the dominant focus was on a firefight that officials said consumed most of the 40-minute assault.
"There were many other people who were armed ... in the compound," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday when asked if bin Laden was armed. "There was a firefight."
He added: "We expected a great deal of resistance and were met with a great deal of resistance."
Pentagon reporters were told by a senior defense official: "For most of the period there, there was a firefight."
The officials later revised these words. Even White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan originally said bin Laden took part in the shootout. Later the White House said he wasn't armed.
NBC News said the majority of the operation was spent gathering up computers, hard drives, cell phones and other items that could provide valuable intelligence on al-Qaida and potential operations worldwide.
Meanwhile, senior Pakistani security officials said US accounts of the operation had been misleading.
"It was cold-blooded," said one Pakistani official.
Another senior security official said no shots were fired inside the building where bin Laden was found. "The people inside the house were unarmed. There was no resistance," he said.
Pakistan's GEO TV quoted military sources as saying bin Laden's Yemeni-born wife told them the al-Qaida leader had lived in Abbottabad for five years but had never ventured out.
Photographs taken by a Pakistani security official about an hour after the assault show three dead men - not including bin Laden - lying in pools of blood. No weapons could be seen.
The sole shooter in the al-Qaida leader's Pakistani compound was killed in the early minutes of the commando operation, details that have become clearer now that the Navy SEAL assault team has been debriefed, the official said.
He said the raid should be described as a precision, floor-by-floor operation to hunt and find the al-Qaida leader and his protectors, rather than as it had been portrayed in a series of briefings since bin Laden's death was announced.
As the Navy SEALs moved into bin Laden's compound, they were fired on by bin Laden's courier, who was in the guesthouse, the official said. The SEALs returned fire, and the courier was killed, along with a woman with him. The official said she was hit in the crossfire.
The Americans were never fired on again as they encountered and killed a man on the first floor and then bin Laden's son on a staircase, before arriving at bin Laden's room. Officials have said bin Laden was killed after he appeared to be lunging for a weapon.
White House and Defense Department and CIA officials through the week have offered various versions of the operation, though the dominant focus was on a firefight that officials said consumed most of the 40-minute assault.
"There were many other people who were armed ... in the compound," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday when asked if bin Laden was armed. "There was a firefight."
He added: "We expected a great deal of resistance and were met with a great deal of resistance."
Pentagon reporters were told by a senior defense official: "For most of the period there, there was a firefight."
The officials later revised these words. Even White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan originally said bin Laden took part in the shootout. Later the White House said he wasn't armed.
NBC News said the majority of the operation was spent gathering up computers, hard drives, cell phones and other items that could provide valuable intelligence on al-Qaida and potential operations worldwide.
Meanwhile, senior Pakistani security officials said US accounts of the operation had been misleading.
"It was cold-blooded," said one Pakistani official.
Another senior security official said no shots were fired inside the building where bin Laden was found. "The people inside the house were unarmed. There was no resistance," he said.
Pakistan's GEO TV quoted military sources as saying bin Laden's Yemeni-born wife told them the al-Qaida leader had lived in Abbottabad for five years but had never ventured out.
Photographs taken by a Pakistani security official about an hour after the assault show three dead men - not including bin Laden - lying in pools of blood. No weapons could be seen.
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