The death of Osama bin Laden was reported by international news media on Monday, May 2, 2011, at approximately 02:30 UTC, and officially announced by U.S. President Barack Obama about an hour later. At about 1:00 A.M. local time on May 2, (19:00 UTC, May 1), United States military forces shot and killed Osama bin Laden after a 40-minute firefight in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and then seized his body. The operation was carried out by 25 members of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group under the command of the Joint Special Operations Command forces in Pakistan working with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
After careful monitoring of a compound suspected to be bin Laden’s Pakistani residence, U.S. military forces were sent across the border of Afghanistan to launch the attack. Pakistani officials confirmed that bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by the U.S. military.
The body was recovered by the U.S. military and was in its possession. ABC News has reported that the body has been identified by DNA testing. However, Reuters reports that DNA test results will be available in the next few days and that bin Laden’s body was identified using facial recognition techniques.
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