334 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
334 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
news
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worldnews
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al-qaeda
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8520071
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# Osama bin Laden raid: Blow-by-blow account of the mission 'that nearly went
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wrong'
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## Those who planned the secret mission to get Osama bin Laden in Pakistan
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knew it was going to be a difficult mission, and it nearly went terribly
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wrong.
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![Part of a damaged helicopter abandoned in the compound where al-Qaeda leader
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Osama bin Laden was killed][1]
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Part of a damaged helicopter abandoned in the compound where al-Qaeda leader
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Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad Photo: REUTERS
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12:57AM BST 18 May 2011
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The US deliberately hid the operation from** [Pakistan][2],** and predicted
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that national outrage over the breach of Pakistani sovereignty would make it
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impossible to try again if the raid on bin Laden's suspected compound did not
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succeed.
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Once the raiders reached their target, things started to go awry almost
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immediately, officials briefed on the operation said.
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Adding new details to the account of the assault on bin Laden's hideout,
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officials described just how the SEAL raiders loudly ditched a foundering
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helicopter right outside bin Laden's door, ruining the plan for a surprise
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assault.
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That forced them to abandon plans to run a "squeeze play" on bin Laden --
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simultaneously entering the house stealthily from the roof and the ground
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floor.
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Instead, they stormed into the ground floor and began a floor-by-floor search
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of the house, working up to the top level where they had assumed bin Laden --
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if he was in the house -- would be.
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## Related Articles
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* [Anwar al-Awlaki is 'next target after Osama bin Laden'][3]
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17 May 2011
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* [Osama bin Laden killing could justify killing Col Gaddafi][4]
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17 May 2011
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* [US steps up face-to-face peace talks with Taliban][5]
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17 May 2011
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* [Nato helicopter strike tests US-Pakistan relations][6]
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17 May 2011
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* [Nato helicopter attacks Pakistan army post][7]
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17 May 2011
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* [Saudi diplomat shot dead in bin Laden revenge attack][8]
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16 May 2011
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They were right.
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The raiders came face-to-face with bin Laden in a hallway outside his bedroom,
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and three of the Americans stormed in after him, US officials briefed on the
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operation told The Associated Press.
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US officials believe Pakistani intelligence continues to support militants who
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attack US troops in Afghanistan, and actively undermine US intelligence
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operations to go after al-Qaeda inside Pakistan. The level of distrust is such
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that keeping Pakistan in the dark was a major factor in planning the raid, and
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led to using the high-tech but sometimes unpredictable helicopter technology
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that nearly unhinged the mission.
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Pakistan's government has since condemned the action, and threatened to open
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fire if US forces enter again.
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On Monday, the two partners attempted to patch up relations, agreeing to
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pursue high-value targets jointly.
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The decision to launch on that particular moonless night in May came largely
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because too many American officials had been briefed on the plan. US officials
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feared if it leaked to the press, bin Laden would disappear for another
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decade.
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US special operations forces have made approximately four forays into
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Pakistani territory since the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, though this one, some 90
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miles inside Pakistan, was unlike any other, the officials say.
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The job was given to a SEAL Team 6 unit, just back from Afghanistan, one
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official said. This elite branch of SEALs had been hunting bin Laden in
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eastern Afghanistan since 2001.
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Five aircraft flew from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, with three school-bus-size
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Chinook helicopters landing in a deserted area roughly two-thirds of the way
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to bin Laden's compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, two of the
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officials explained.
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Aboard two Black Hawk helicopters were 23 SEALs, an interpreter and a tracking
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dog named Cairo.
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Nineteen SEALs would enter the compound, and three of them would find bin
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Laden, one official said, providing the exact numbers for the first time.
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Aboard the Chinooks were two dozen more SEALs, as backup.
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The Black Hawks were specially engineered to muffle the tail rotor and engine
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sound, two officials said. The added weight of the stealth technology meant
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cargo was calculated to the ounce, with weather factored in. The night of the
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mission, it was hotter than expected.
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The Black Hawks were to drop the SEALs and depart in less than two minutes, in
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hopes locals would assume they were Pakistani aircraft visiting the nearby
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military academy.
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One Black Hawk was to hover above the compound, with SEALs sliding down ropes
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into the open courtyard.
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The second was to hover above the roof to drop SEALs there, then land more
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SEALs outside, plus an interpreter and the dog, who would track anyone who
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tried to escape and to alert SEALs to any approaching Pakistani security
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forces.
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If troops appeared, the plan was to hunker down in the compound, avoiding
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armed confrontation with the Pakistanis while officials in Washington
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negotiated their passage out.
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The two SEAL teams inside would work toward each other, in a simultaneous
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attack from above and below, their weapons silenced, guaranteeing surprise,
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one of the officials said. They would have stormed the building in a matter of
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minutes, as they'd done time and again in two training models of the compound.
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The plan unraveled as the first helicopter tried to hover over the compound.
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The Black Hawk skittered around uncontrollably in the heat-thinned air,
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forcing the pilot to land. As he did, the tail and rotor got caught on one of
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the compound's 12-foot walls. The pilot quickly buried the aircraft's nose in
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the dirt to keep it from tipping over, and the SEALs clambered out into an
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outer courtyard.
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The other aircraft did not even attempt hovering, landing its SEALs outside
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the compound.
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Now, the raiders were outside, and they'd lost the element of surprise.
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They had trained for this, and started blowing their way in with explosives,
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through walls and doors, working their way up the three-level house from the
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bottom.
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They had to blow their way through barriers at each stair landing, firing
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back, as one of the men in the house fired at them.
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They shot three men as well as one woman, whom US officials have said lunged
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at the SEALs.
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Small knots of children were on every level, including the balcony of bin
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Laden's room.
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As three of the SEALs reached the top of the steps on the third floor, they
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saw bin Laden standing at the end of the hall. The Americans recognized him
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instantly, the officials said.
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Bin Laden also saw them, dimly outlined in the dark house, and ducked into his
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room.
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The three SEALs assumed he was going for a weapon, and one by one they rushed
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after him through the door, one official described.
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Two women were in front of bin Laden -- yelling and trying to protect him, two
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officials said. The first SEAL grabbed the two women and shoved them away,
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fearing they might be wearing suicide bomb vests, they said.
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The SEAL behind him opened fire at bin Laden, putting one bullet in his chest,
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and one in his head.
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It was over in a matter of seconds.
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Back at the White House Situation Room, word was relayed that bin Laden had
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been found, signaled by the code word "Geronimo."
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That was not bin Laden's code name, but rather a representation of the letter
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"G."
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Each step of the mission was labeled alphabetically, and "Geronimo" meant that
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the raiders had reached step "G," the killing or capture of bin Laden, two
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officials said.
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As the SEALs began photographing the body for identification, the raiders
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found an AK-47 rifle and a Russian-made Makarov pistol on a shelf by the door
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they'd just run through. Bin Laden hadn't touched them.
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They were among a handful of weapons that were removed to be inventoried.
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It took approximately 15 minutes to reach bin Laden, one official said. The
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next 23 or so were spent blowing up the broken chopper, after rounding up nine
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women and 18 children, to get them out of range of the blast.
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One of the waiting Chinooks flew in to pick up bin Laden's body, the raiders
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from the broken aircraft and the weapons, documents and other materials seized
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at the site.
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The helicopters flew back to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, and the body was
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flown to a waiting US Navy ship for bin Laden's burial at sea, ensuring no
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shrine would spring up around his grave.
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When the SEAL team met President Barack Obama, he did not ask who shot bin
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Laden. He simply thanked each member of the team, two officials said.
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In a few weeks, the team that killed bin Laden will go back to training, and
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in a couple of months, back to work overseas.
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[What are these?][10]
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* Share: [Share][9] [ ][11] [ ][12]
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[Tweet][13]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8520071/Osama-bin-Laden-
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raid-Blow-by-blow-account-of-the-mission-that-nearly-went-wrong.html
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Telegraph
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## [Al-Qaeda][14]
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* ### [News »][15]
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* ### [World News »][16]
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* ### [Asia »][17]
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* ### [Pakistan »][2]
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In news
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[![Mullah Omar, head of the Taliban][18] ][19]
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### [Taliban leader reported killed][19]
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[![Pakistan naval base attack][20] ][21]
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### [Taliban attack Pakistan naval base][21]
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[![The killing of Osama bin Laden could be used as legal justification for the
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death of Muammar Gaddafi, MPs have been told. ][22] ][23]
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### [Bin Laden's posthumous message][23]
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[![Osama bin Laden dead: Taliban suicide bombers kill 80 in Pakistan revenge
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attack][24] ][25]
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### [Witnesses describe bomb aftermath][25]
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[![60 Minutes - CBS news][26] ][27]
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### [Obama: Pakistan may have known bin Laden whereabouts][27]
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[X][9] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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[What are these?][10]
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Share:
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* [ ][9]
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* [ ][11]
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* [ ][12]
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* [Tweet][13]
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* Advertisement
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![][28]
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Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
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