Osama bin Laden Killed; ID Confirmed by DNA Testing
Osama bin Laden, hunted as the mastermind behind the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, has been killed, President Obama announced tonight. The president called the killing of bin Laden the "most significant achievement to date" in the effort to defeat al Qaeda. Bin Laden was located at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, which was monitored and when the time was determined to be right, the president said, he authorized a "targeted operation."
"A small team of Americans carried out the operation," Obama said. "After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."
DNA testing confirmed that it was bin Laden, sources told ABC News.
Sources said the attack was carried out by Joint Special Operations Command forces working with the CIA.
A Pakistani intelligence official tells ABC News that this was a joint U.S.-Pakistani operation and that last night at 1:30am local time, two American helicopters swooped into Abbottabad, a town about 100 miles from Islamabad.
One of the helicopters was shot down, according to this Pakistani official.
Vice President Biden briefed Republican congressional leaders this evening on the operation, which had been kept secret until shortly before the president's announcement tonight.
Former President George W. Bush said in a statement tonight that Obama called him to inform him of the news of bin Laden's death.
Bush called the operation a "momentous achievement" that "marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001.
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