YEAR IN REVIEW #5: Osama bin Laden killed nearly 10 years after 9/11 attacks
On May 1 President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, the man most directly responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Before Obama even made the announcement in a late-night televised speech from the East Room of the White House, news and speculation spread through Twitter and other social networks.
More than an hour before the speech, Keith Urbahn, chief of staff for the Office of Donald Rumsfield, tweeted, “So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama bin Laden. Hot Damn.”
Social media continued to spread the news as Facebook exploded with posts about bin Laden's death. According to CNN.com, within hours of the news, a new Facebook page “Osama bin Laden is DEAD” was created.
Obama said bin Laden was killed in a firefight in Pakistan following intelligence indicating his location in the country. There were no civilian casualties and no Americans were harmed, Obama said.
In addition to bin Laden, three men were killed during the 40-minute raid, one believed to be his son and the other two his couriers. A woman was also killed when she was used as a shield by a male combatant, and two others were wounded.
The body of bin Laden was later buried at sea.
The announcement of bin Laden's death came nearly a decade after the 9/11 attacks where about 3,000 people were killed.
Crowds gathered all across the United States in celebration of the demise of the well-known terrorist, as chants of, "U.S.A! U.S.A!" and flag-waving took place outside the White House, in Times Square and at the ground zero site.
Obama said the U.S. was first informed of a possible lead on bin Laden’s whereabouts in August. Obama said the capture or killing of bin Laden has been the top priority of the U.S. since he received the intelligence that bin Laden was in Pakistan.
The president said bin Laden’s death is the “most significant achievement to date in our effort to defeat al-Qaeda,” but cautioned that the terrorist organization would continue to pursue attacks against the U.S.
