Osama bin Laden Dead: Taliban Suicide Bombers Kill 80 in Pakistan Revenge Attack
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two suicide bombers have killed at least 80 people at a paramilitary training centre in northwestern Pakistan in apparent revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The Pakistan Taliban immediately claimed responsibility and said bigger attacks were to follow.

The attack on Friday morning in Charsadda district is the bloodiest since US forces killed bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2.

A suicide bomber on a motorbike struck at the gates just as young recruits boarded buses to go on leave after their course.

Police in Shabqadar, close to the border with Afghanistan, said a second explosion came seconds later.

At least 65 of the dead were recruits at the Frontier Constabulary training site while the rest were civilians. More than 100 people were also injured.

"This was the first revenge for Osama's martyrdom. Wait for bigger attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan," Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said afterwards.

"Two of our fedayeen (suicide bombers) carried out these attacks." » | Rob Crilly, in Islamabad and Laura Roberts | Friday, May 13, 2011

Osama bin Laden's Youngest Wife Wanted to Be Martyred, Says Family
THE GUARDIAN: The al-Qaida leader's in-laws describe him as a sincere husband and her as a brave woman who was not a fundamentalist

The family of Osama bin Laden's youngest wife have broken their silence to describe how the 29-year-old Yemeni, currently in the custody of security services in Pakistan, refused the chance to leave her husband, saying instead she was determined be "martyred" alongside him.

The relatives of Amal Ahmed al-Sadah, who became the al-Qaida leader's fifth wife in late 1999, spoke of a "sincere" husband – though one who apparently exaggerated tales of his own bravado for the sake of his in-laws.

Sadah, who Pakistani officials say was wounded in the calf during the operation that killed her husband, was among at least a dozen women and children detained by Pakistani security officials after the raid on the Abbottabad compound where Bin Laden had been living for several years. It is believed the American special forces team that carried out the operation was forced to abandon plans to evacuate survivors after losing of one of their four helicopters because of a technical problem.

Among those detained are two other women who have also been identified as wives of Bin Laden by Pakistani officials. However, this is unconfirmed. If true both would be Saudi nationals. The children appear to be a mixture of Bin Laden's own and his grandchildren. They include Sadah's daughter, Safiya, who was born shortly before the 9/11 attacks.

Pakistani officials have repeated that all those detained will be repatriated to their countries of origin. » | jason Burke | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Osama Bin Laden Emails Weren't Detected By U.S.: Here's Why
THE HUFFINGTON POST: WASHINGTON — Despite having no Internet access in his hideout, Osama bin Laden was a prolific email writer who built a painstaking system that kept him one step ahead of the U.S. government's best eavesdroppers.

His methods, described in new detail to The Associated Press by a counterterrorism official and a second person briefed on the U.S. investigation, served him well for years and frustrated Western efforts to trace him through cyberspace. The arrangement allowed bin Laden to stay in touch worldwide without leaving any digital fingerprints behind.

The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive intelligence analysis.

Bin Laden's system was built on discipline and trust. But it also left behind an extensive archive of email exchanges for the U.S. to scour. The trove of electronic records pulled out of his compound after he was killed last week is revealing thousands of messages and potentially hundreds of email addresses, the AP has learned. » | Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman | Thursday, May 12, 2011

Osama bin Laden Sought 'New 9/11' to Force US Out of Middle East
THE GUARDIAN: Hord of writings on computers, flash drives and in diary reveal morbid emphasis on another atrocity

Osama bin Laden went to the bizarre length of trying to calculate how many more American deaths it would take to force the US to retreat from the Middle East, his writings have revealed.

The al-Qaida leader was convinced that only a massive blood-letting on the scale of 9/11 would have the necessary shock factor to effect a change in US policy around the region. He told his followers that a sprinkling of smaller attacks would not have the desired effect.

The revelation of Bin Laden's morbid emphasis on another mass atrocity comes from the large stash of his writings that was discovered in his hideout in Pakistan and brought by Navy Seals to the US after they killed him. The hord, which has been compared in size to a small college library, included five computers and about 100 removable digital storage devices or flash drives. It also included a diary that Bin Laden wrote by hand.

US intelligence officers poring through the data told the Associated Press the information underlines how proactive Bin Laden continued to be even when al-Qaida as a movement was on the defensive. Though he didn't appear to have the ability directly to co-ordinate specific attacks from his lair in Abbottabad, he did have input into every major al-Qaida plot, including those across Europe last year, the officials said.

He was also in touch with many of the most dangerous al-Qaida offshoots around the world that some had assumed were working independently, such as the branch in Yemen that has become a leading centre of al-Qaida activity. » | Ed Pilkington in New York and Declan Walsh in Islamabad | Thursday, May 12, 2011

"What is coming is greater and worse, and what you will be facing is more intense and harmful." – Nasser al-Wuhayshi, leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

Osama bin Laden: Pakistan Politicians Mourn al-Qaeda Leader
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A group of Pakistani politicians including a former minister hijacked proceedings in parliament to offer prayers for the death of Osama bin Laden, little more than a week after he was killed in a US Navy Seal raid.

Their actions will heighten suspicions that parts of the Islamabad government or the powerful military establishment sympathised with the al-Qaeda leader, and may have sheltered him from justice.

"Bin Laden was an international figure and above all a Muslim ... I took it as my religious duty to offer prayers for him," said Maulvi Asmatullah, an independent Member of the National Assembly who led the prayers on Tuesday.

The deputy speaker of the house tried to silence the prayers, warning the MNAs that they did not have permission Mr Asmatullah was joined by two members of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam party, the country's biggest Islamic party which was part of the governing coalition until late 2010.

Atta-ur-Rehman, a federal minister until his party withdrew from government, was among them.

Their controversial actions underscore Pakistan's complex relationship with Islamist militants. » | Rob Crilly, Islamabad | Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Osama bin Laden Dead: Sons Denounce 'Arbitrary Killing'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The sons of Osama bin Laden broke their silence on Tuesday denouncing his "arbitrary killing" and burial at sea as the United States sought to question the al-Qaeda leader's widows.

In a statement given to the New York Times, the sons asked why their father "was not arrested and tried in a court of law so that the truth is revealed to the people of the world."

"We maintain that arbitrary killing is not a solution to political problems," it said. In a separate statement posted on jihadist sites, the sons also slammed the "criminal mission" ordered by US President Barack Obama which "obliterated an entire defenceless family."

Bin Laden was killed by US forces on May 2 after being tracked down to a Pakistani compound where the architect of the September 11, 2001 attacks is believed to eluded capture for years, despite a massive global hunt.

The statements denouncing his father's killing are said to have been prepared at the direction of Omar bin Laden, 30, and also called for Pakistani authorities to release the al-Qaeda leader's three wives and children.

The United States is keen to question the three women in hopes of finding out more details of al-Qaeda's reach and organisation, as well as details of bin Laden's final years. » | Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Osama bin Laden's Son Says U.S. Broke International Law 'If' His Father Is Dead
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Osama bin Laden's son Omar says he always disagreed with his father about violence, and is now disagreeing with the violence purportedly used against his father.

In a statement written by the Bin Laden family but signed only by Omar, 30, the United States is accused of breaking international law by killing the unarmed terrorist leader without a trial. That is, they said, if the mission was indeed successful.

Omar bin Laden began the statement by saying that he and the family do not believe that the Al Qaeda leader is dead and, like the so-called deathers in this country, want to see photographs and/or video evidence as proof. » | Andrew Malcolm | Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Osama bin Laden Dead: 'Crown Prince of Terror Disappeared' During Raid
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A relative of Osama bin Laden disappeared during the raid by a crack team of US Navy Seals that killed the al-Qaeda leader, according to Pakistan security officials, deepening confusion over the fate of a son regarded as the Crown Prince of Terror.

Three of bin Laden’s widows, currently in Pakistani custody, have told interrogators that one son has not been seen since the operation on May 2.

The fresh details raise fears that the al-Qaeda leader’s youngest son and closest confidante, Hamza, may have escaped capture.

The White House initially claimed that Hamza, 20, had been killed at the house in Abbottabad, about 30 miles from Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.

Officials later said his 22-year-old brother Khalid had been killed instead.

Last night an intelligence source in Islamabad told The Daily Telegraph that shifting accounts of what had happened, coupled with the widows’ testimony, left them unable to account for one person who they believe had been living at the house. » | Rob Crilly, Islamabad and Alex Spillius in Washington | Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Bargaining Over Osama’s Wives
It has been just over a week since US special forces killed al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan.



Pakistan may allow American investigators to question his three widows, arrested by Pakistani forces shortly after the unilateral US raid.



After days of hard talk coming from both sides, the US and Pakistan have signalled a willingness to co-operate. 



Al Jazeera's Imtiyaz Tyab reports.

Biographie Osama Bin Ladens
Osama Bin Laden gilt als Verantwortlicher für die schlimmsten Terroranschläge des 21. Jahrhunderts mit Tausenden von Toten. Nach den Attentaten vom 11. September 2001 in New York und Washington war er für viele Menschen zum Inbegriff des Bösen geworden

Iran Can Prove Bin Laden Was Dead Long Before US Raid – Iranian Minister
RUSSIA TODAY: Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi claims that Osama Bin Laden died from an illness before the US raid on his compound in Abbottabad. Iran has documents to prove it, he said.

"We have credible information that Bin Laden died some time ago of a disease," Moslehi said on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, as quoted by ISNA news agency.



"If the US military and intelligence apparatus have really arrested or killed Bin Laden, why don't they show him [his body]? Why have they thrown his corpse into the sea?" Moslehi asked rhetorically, FARS news agency reports. » | Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Pat Condell: Justice for Osama

Reactions to Pakistani Prime Minister's Rebuttal of Criticism of His Country
Mosharraf Zaidi, a Pakistani analyst, and Wajid Shamsul Hassan, Pakistan's high commissioner to the UK, speak to Al Jazeera about the Pakistani prime minister's rebuttal to criticisms of incompetence or complicity in the case of Osama bin Laden being found in his country

Pakistan Rejects Criticism Over Bin Laden
Pakistan's Prime Minister has denied he or the government knew they were harbouring the world's most-wanted man on its soil.

Yousuf Raza Gilani says Pakistan will not accept sole blame for any intelligence failure in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, the former al-Qaeda leader who was shot dead last week in a US raid on the Pakistani town of Abbottabad.

Gilani has also warned off any other countries wanting to conduct operations in secret inside Pakistan.

Al Jazeera's Cath Turner reports.

Killing Bin Laden: The President's Story
In his first and only interview since the killing of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, President Barack Obama talks to Steve Kroft about the intelligence and preparations leading up to the operation in Pakistan

President Barack Obama relives the tension-filled moments as he and his closest advisors monitored the assault on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan. Steve Kroft reports

President Barack Obama talks about our allies in Pakistan, why he chose not to tell them about the mission, and where we go from here now that Osama bin Laden is dead. Steve Kroft reports

Mood in Afghanistan Post-bin Laden Death
Afghans say Osama bin Laden's death proves Pakistani intelligence service and military have been supporting al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Al Jazeera's James Bay speaks with Jaweed Lodin, Afghanistan deputy foreign minister who's close to the president.

Osama bin Laden Dead: Ayman al-Zawahiri the World's 'Number One Terrorist'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama's National Security Adviser has declared Ayman al-Zawahiri to be the world's "number one terrorist" but said al-Qaeda's long standing deputy lacked Osama bin Laden's charismatic appeal.

One week after bin Laden's death and with no successor yet named, the assessment will heighten speculation that al-Qaeda is heading for a leadership battle.

Tom Donilon said: "Our assessment is that he is not anywhere near the leader that Osama bin Laden was." He also said there was no evidence yet to suggest that Pakistani authorities were aware that bin Laden had set up home only 30 miles from the capital Islamabad.

Al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian-born surgeon, is the man in line to take over, according to al-Qaeda's own rules of succession, but intelligence officials and analysts believe his abrasive style has made him unpopular with non-Egyptian ranks within the movement.

Other possible contenders in a succession battle include Abu Yahya al-Libi and Atiyah abd al-Rahman, two Libyans seen as rising stars.

Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical cleric famous for his YouTube appeals to English-speaking converts from his base in Yemen, has also been mooted. » | Rob Crilly, Islamabad | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Under Fire, Pakistan's PM to Address Nation on Bin Laden Death
REUTERS: Opposition parties took aim at Pakistan's leaders on Monday over the killing of Osama bin Laden, compounding pressure from Washington over the al Qaeda leader's hideout, as the prime minister prepared to "take the nation into confidence" on the crisis in a parliament address.

Pakistan's main opposition party is stepping up calls for the prime minister and president to resign over the breach of sovereignty by U.S. forces who slipped in from Afghanistan to storm the compound where bin Laden was holed up.

"We want resignations, not half-baked explanations," an official of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League told the News daily.

Pakistan welcomed the death of bin Laden, who plotted the September 11, 2001, airliner attacks on the United States, as a step in the fight against militancy but also said the U.S. raid to kill him was a violation of its sovereignty. » | John Chalmers | ISLAMABAD | Monday, May 09, 2011

Al-Qaeda: Osama bin Laden Dead: Barack Obama Queries Pakistan's Role in Hiding bin Laden
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has suggested for the first time that “people inside of government” in Pakistan could have helped to harbour Osama bin Laden.

The comments, the strongest about Pakistan made by Mr Obama so far, came as his administration ramped up pressure on Islamabad for a full investigation into who gave him sanctuary so close to Islamabad[.] He said: “We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don’t know who or what that support network was.”

“We don’t know whether there might have been some people inside of government, people outside of government, and that’s something that we have to investigate and, more importantly, the Pakistani government has to investigate.”

In an interview with CBS News, Mr Obama confirmed that the US would not be releasing the photographs of bin Laden’s body.

He said: “Keep in mind that we are absolutely certain this was him. We’ve done DNA sampling and testing. And so there is no doubt that we killed Osama bin Laden. It is important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence. As a propaganda tool. You know, that’s not who we are. You know, we don’t trot out this stuff as trophies. Continue reading and comment » | Toby Harnden, Washington, Jon Swaine in New York | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Osama bin Laden: Dead, But Still a Spectre for the World
THE OBSERVER: Barack Obama has been boosted by the killing of the al-Qaida leader, but his followers warn that his blood will not be 'wasted'

…

EXTRACT: Then there is the question: what does the death of Bin Laden mean for al-Qaida, for the phenomenon of contemporary Sunni Islamic militancy more generally and for world security? Are we safer?

On Friday, al-Qaida issued a statement on the internet which pledged that Bin Laden's blood would not be "wasted", that his "university of Koran… and jihad" would not be closed and the organisation would continue the fight against the US and its allies. Signed by al-Qaida's "general leadership", it also predicted that Bin Laden's death would be a "curse" for the US. This weekend security services around the world are on high alert, fearing attacks aiming not so much at vengeance but simply at showing that the group still has capabilities.

The fact that a statement – apparently agreed by a number of different people – was put together and released successfully indicates that, at least for the moment, the few score militants who comprise the "al-Qaida hardcore" still have some cohesion. … Read the whole article and comment » | Jason Burke, Declan Walsh in Islamabad and Paul Harris in New York | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Osama bin Laden Home Video: Terrorist Leader Shown as Frail Figure Watching Himself on TV
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Extraordinary home-made video of Osama bin Laden shows the terror supremo as a frail figure with an unkempt beard, rocking back and forth as he watches himself on television.


The remarkable footage apparently recorded at his Pakistani hideout was part of a cache of videos captured by the US commandos who killed him in a daring night-time raid last week.

It stood in stark contrast to the image he sought to portray of himself to his followers and enemies in other seized videos in which he had dyed his hair and beard a luxuriant black and donned spotless clothing for propaganda recordings. » | Philip Sherwell, New York | Saturday, May 07, 2011