America, Fuck Yeah!

Revelers gather at the fence on the north side of the White House, pose for photographs, chant 'U.S.A.! U.S.A.!' and sing the Star Spangled Banner while U.S. President Barack Obama announces the death of Osama Bin Laden during a late evening statement to the press in the East Room of the White House May 1, 2011 in Washington, DC. Bin Laden has been killed near Islamabad, Pakistan almost a decade after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and his body is in possession of the United States (Getty Images via Daylife).

The UK's Telegraph reports on how the operation unfolded:

Osama bin Laden was killed by a bullet fired by a United States Navy SEAL during a 40-minute helicopter assault on a fortified compound believed to have been purpose-built to hide the al-Qaeda leader.

Three other men were killed in what a senior Obama administration official described as "a surgical raid by a small team designed to minimise collateral damage".

These were believed to be two al-Qaeda couriers who lived at the compound, along with their families, and an adult son of bin Laden. A woman being used as a shield by one of the al-Qaeda men during the firefight was also killed and two other women wounded.

A helicopter involved in the raid suffered mechanical failure and was blown up by the American team, none of whom were killed or injured. The Pakistani government was not informed of the raid until after it was over.

Details of the make-up of the team that killed bin Laden were closely guarded but the CIA was closely involved in the planning and execution of the raid.

Troops from a SEAL unit - the US Navy's elite Special Forces cadre that draws its name from Sea, Air, Land, is understood to have formed its core.

It took years for the compound to be located. Initially, the CIA knew only the nom de guerre of a man believed to be a trusted courier for bin Laden. Four years ago, his true identity was discovered and two years ago the places in Pakistan where he frequented were established.

The crucial breakthrough came last August when the compound where the courier lived along with his brother, another courier, was pinpointed and President Barack Obama briefed. The compound was in an affluent area of Abbotabad where many retired Pakistani military officers lived.

Initially built in a secluded area at the end of a dirt road, more homes had sprung up nearby. But the compound was about eight times larger than any other residence. It was protected by two security gates and 12-18ft high walls.

The main three-storey building in the compound had a terrace hidden from view by a 7ft wall and many areas were sealed off by internal walls.

Although the value of the compound was assessed at $1 million, the two couriers had no known source of income and there was no telephone or internet service.

Unlike their neighbours, occupants of the compound burned all their rubbish.

American intelligence agencies involved in assessing the compound included the CIA, the National Security Agency and the National Geospatial Agency.

Eventually, it was concluded that a third family lived in the compound - the bin Laden family, including the al-Qaeda leader and his youngest wife.

A drone strike on the compound was considered but ruled out because of the danger of killed large numbers of Pakistani civilians.

Instead, Mr Obama gave his authorisation last Friday for a highly risky helicopter assault that eventually took place in the early hours of Sunday morning Pakistan time.

And here is a CNBC report on the team that carried out the operation:

The military team that killed Osama Bin Laden is an elite special forces group unofficially called Seal Team 6.

Officially, the team's name is classified and not available to the public, technically there is no team 6. A Tier-One counter-terrorism force similar to the Army's elusive Delta group, Team 6's mission rarely make it to paper much less the newspaper.
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The members of Team 6 are all "black" operatives. They exist outside military protocol, engage in operations that are at the highest level of classification and often outside the boundaries of international law. To maintain plausible deniability in case they are caught, records of black operations are rarely, if ever, kept.

The development of SEAL Team 6 was in direct response to the 1980 attempt to rescue the American hostages held in Iran. The mission was a terrific failure that fell apart at many points and illustrated the need for a dedicated counter-terrorist team capable of operating with the utmost secrecy.

The Team was labeled 6 at the time to confuse Soviet intelligence about the number of SEAL teams in operation at the time. There were only two others.

Team 6 poached the top operatives from other SEAL units and trained them even more intensely from there. Even among proven SEAL's the attrition rate for Team 6 is reported to be nearly half.

There are no names available for current Team 6 members, but the CIA does recruit heavily from their numbers for their Special Operations Group, so it makes sense that they were chosen to work with the CIA on this mission.

Team 6 is normally devoted to missions with maritime authority: ship rescues, oil rigs, naval bases or land bases accessible by water. There are no waterways near Bin Laden's compound.

When a former Navy SEAL was called for a comment about this article all he could say was: "You know I'd love to help you man, but I can't say a word about Team 6. There is no Team 6."