Obama: Osama bin Laden dead in firefight with U.S. personnel

President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama Bin Laden to a global audience on Sunday… President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama Bin Laden to a global audience on Sunday night.

Obama said the United States conducted the operation that killed bin Laden, the man allegedly behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. After confirming the location of bin Laden in a compound in Pakistan, Obama said he ordered a targeted attack earlier today against the compound, ending a line of investigation which began last August.

The leader of al-Qaida was killed after a firefight on the ground. U.S. personnel took custody of the body afterward to confirm bin Laden’s death. Obama attributed his death to military personnel and counter-terrorism professionals.

The search for bin Laden has been going on since before the 2001 attacks, and continued after he fled the Afghanistan border to hide out in Pakistan, Obama said.

Almost one decade after 9/11, Obama said that bin Laden’s death “marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al-Qaida, but the death does not mark the end of our efforts.”

During his short speech, broadcast on the White House’s website, Obama said Americans have not forgotten the losses of the 9/11 attacks, and America will continue to fight to protect its security.

Obama said “On nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al-Qaida’s terror, justice has been done.”