news worldnews al-qaeda 8489699 ----- # Peter Oborne at Osama bin Laden's compound ## The Telegraph's Peter Oborne gives an eyewitness account of the scene outside the Abbottabad compound where Osama bin Laden was killed. 560 315 TelegraphPlayer-8489699 by Peter Oborne 1:00PM BST 03 May 2011 Follow the latest news with Osama bin Laden killed: live The whole world may be alive with excitement as it digests the news that the biggest manhunt in history has reached its gory conclusion, but the most important death of the 21st century so far seems to have made little impact in Abbottabad. The shops are open, selling fruit, groceries and kebabs. The restaurants are full as local people sit in the open air smoking cigarettes and munching naan bread. There is no tension in the air, no menacing groups of young men at street corners, no religious slogans scrawled on the walls or shouted in the streets. [Osama bin Laden][1] met his death in the cleanest town I have ever seen in [Pakistan][2], full of tidy gardens, whitewashed walls and tidily pruned hedgerows. There is no litter in the streets. The shiny signposts at every corner betray the character of this idyllic city. Abbottabad is a military cantonment. The military is omnipresent. Related Content * ## [Bin Laden's compound][3] * ## [Barack Obama watched bin Laden raid][4] * ## [Bin Laden shot in 40 minute raid][5] * ## [Preston graduate live tweets bin Laden raid][6] It was early evening last night by the time we arrived in Abbottabad after a winding 35-mile journey north from Islamabad along the Kula Kula highway, which links Pakistan to China. As we entered the road leading to Bilal town - where the Americans say bin Laden was killed - we were greeted by a large tank painted with extravagant military markings. It marked the entrance to the Pakistan military academy. A few hundred yards down to the bottom of the hill was the entrance to Bilal town - and the only place in Abbottabad where the tension was palpable. A heavy military presence halted further progress. In the near darkness we could see the silhouette of the buildings where bin Laden had died - we were told that his heavily fortified compound was 100 yards from where we stood. Local people told us that the police and soldiers were removing items and collecting evidence from the house. "They don't want it to turn into a shrine," one said. Walking back up the hill, we turned right into the smart offices of the Paradise furniture and mobile centre. Behind the counter Khizer, 20, a student, told us that the lights in the town had suddenly gone out at 10pm. Some time later, at around 1am, the electricity had come back on. Almost immediately, two small blasts followed by a large bang shook the windows in all the houses of the neighbourhood. Khizer said he was reluctant to accept President Barack Obama's claim that bin Laden was dead. "There is always such a heavy presence of military round here. I do not believe that he would have come here on his own accord." Passers-by backed up Khizer's claim. They said that the bin Ladens had lived in a "red zone" area, signifying exceptionally high security. Khizer said he regularly walked past the compound where the bin Laden family lived. "The neighbours said that they were backward" - a phrase often used by urban people in Pakistan to refer to visitors from the mountains. He added that people walking past the bin Laden compound often heard the sounds of women talking and children crying. On the street outside, we met a plumber, Mohammad Naseen Khan, who said he was working in the house next to where Osama bin Laden had lived. Neighbours had told him that "they were good people. They were generous in paying their bills. They always gave a little extra". Not one person we spoke to believed that bin Laden had been killed in the shoot-out. Wajjid Robbabni told us that the Americans were faking the death because they wanted to justify withdrawal from Afghanistan. There was a mood of reasoned anger among the people outside Bilal town. They expressed indignation that the Americans had carried out a military operation on Pakistani soil. Most of the men we spoke to told us that they strongly admired Osama bin Laden. There were vigorous nods of approval as Mohamamad Iqbal, an elderly lawyer, said: "Bin Laden will be remembered. If he is dead, it will make no differerence. His mission is over but his name will live on." **Additional reporting by Murtaza Shibli ** [X][7] Share & bookmark Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! 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Buzz [What are these?][8] Share: * [ ][7] * [ ][9] * [ ][10] * [Tweet][11] * Advertisement ![][17] RELATED VIDEO [![Let's be clear: Osama bin Laden was executed ? and for good reason; A still from a Bin Laden video released by the US Department of Defense; AFP][18] ][19] ### [Osama bin Laden's video messages][19] 19 May 2011 [![][20] ][21] ### [Osama bin Laden unarmed when shot dead][21] 03 May 2011 [![Rally in Pakistan for Osama bin Laden][22] ][23] ### [Rally in Pakistan for bin Laden][23] 03 May 2011 [![David Cameron, left, and Osama bin Laden][24] ][25] ### [Gaddafi's 'common thread' with bin Laden][25] 03 May 2011 [![Pervez Musharraf][26] ][27] ### [Pakistan in the dark over bin Laden compound][27] 03 May 2011 [![John Brennan, the chief counter-terrorism adviser in the US, says investigations are under way into how Osama bin Laden went six years undetected at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. ][28] ][29] ### [Bin Laden 'had Pakistani support'][29] 03 May 2011 Advertisement [WATCH MORE »][14] [![Flight recorders may provide Air France crash clues][30] ][31] ### [Air France recorders may give crash clues][31] [![penguin at London Zoo][32] ][33] ### [Penguins' new London Zoo pool][33] [Follow The Telegraph on Social Media »][34] Like Telegraph.co.uk on Facebook [1]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/ [2]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/ [3]: /news/picturegalleries/worldnews/8490348/Osama-bin-Laden-more- pictures-of-Abbottabad-Pakistan.html [4]: /news/picturegalleries/worldnews/8489318/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-US- President-Barack-Obama-watched-raid-in-real-time.html [5]: /news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8488063/Osama-bin-Laden-shot-dead- during-40-minute-raid-after-refusing-to-surrender.html [6]: /technology/twitter/8487686/Osama-bin-Laden-killed-Pakistani-man-live- tweets-deadly-raid.html [7]: # [8]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4590190/Share-this-article- What-are-these.html [9]: mailto:?subject=A Telegraph reader thought you would be interested in this article&body=Depending on your email program, you may be able to click on the link in the email. 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