Bin Laden Got Shot After Retreating Into Room

Also: CIA had spy house in Abbottabad
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 5, 2011 8:28 PM CDT
Osama bin Laden Got Shot Retreating Into Room; CIA Had Spy House in Abbottabad
The compound where Osama bin Laden was hiding in Abbottabad.   (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File)

The Washington Post has new details on the Osama bin Laden operation, from anonymous US officials:

  • Last moments: Commandos first saw bin Laden in the doorway to his room. He was shot twice after retreating into the room, where US forces found an AK-47 and a pistol. His actions constitute resistance, said a US official. “He was retreating. You don’t know why he’s retreating, what he’s doing when he goes back in there. Is he getting a weapon? Does he have a (suicide) vest?”

  • Secret spy house: The CIA operated a safe house in Abbottabad for months before the raid to spy on the bin Laden compound. It was part of an extensive and expensive (in the tens of millions) surveillance operation that encompassed satellite images from drones and eavesdropping devices. They never did got a glimpse of bin Laden. “You’ve got to give him credit for his tradecraft," said one former CIA official.
Obama may meet some of the SEALs involved in the final raid tomorrow. (More CIA stories.)

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