Manhunt for Osama bin Laden

18°N 66°E / 18°N 66°E / 18; 66Osama bin Laden, the founder and former leader of al-Qaeda, went into hiding following the start of the War in Afghanistan in order to avoid capture by the United States and/or its allies for his role in the September 11 attacks, and having been on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list since 1999.^[1] After evading capture at the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001, his whereabouts became unclear, and various rumours about his health, continued role in al-Qaeda, and location were circulated. Bin Laden also released several video and audio recordings during this time.

In the decade following his disappearance, there were many attempts made by the United States government to locate bin Laden. In December 2009, U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal said that bin Laden would need to be "captured or killed" in order for the U.S. to "finally defeat al-Qaeda."^[2]

American intelligence officials discovered the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden by tracking one of his couriers. Information was collected from Guantánamo Bay detainees, who gave intelligence officers the courier's pseudonym as Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti.^[3] In 2009, U.S. officials discovered that al-Kuwaiti lived in Abbottābad, Pakistan.^[4] CIA paramilitary operatives located al-Kuwaiti in August 2010 and followed him back to the Abbottabad compound, which led them to speculate it was bin Laden's location.^[5]

On May 1, 2011, United States Navy SEALs of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU) carried out an assault on the compound on orders from U.S. President Barack Obama. During a 40-minute raid, bin Laden was killed in the pre-dawn hours of May 2 by one bullet above the left eye and another to the chest. The SEALs overpowered the compound's remaining residents, killing several, and extracted bin Laden's body (which was subsequently buried at sea) as well as computer hard drives, documents, and other material.