Osama bin Laden was the founder of al-Qaeda, the terrorist organization responsible for the

September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other attacks against civilian and
military targets.

Bin Laden was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) lists of Ten Most
Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists for his involvement in the 1998 U.S. embassy
bombing. From 2001 to 2011, bin Laden was a major target of the War on Terror, with a $25
million bounty by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

After being placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list, bin Laden remained in hiding during three
U.S. presidential administrations. On May 2, 2011, bin Laden was shot and killed inside a private
residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs and CIA operatives in a
covert operation ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama. Shortly after his death, bin Laden's
body was buried at sea. Al-Qaeda acknowledged his death on May 6, 2011, vowing to retaliate.

On April 29, 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama authorized the CIA to conduct a raid, dubbed
"Operation Neptune Spear. In the late evening of May 1, 2011, (EDT), the president announced that bin
Laden had been killed in the operation. Two teams of 12 U.S. Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare
Development Group (SEAL Team Six), of the Joint Special Operations Command and working with the
CIA paramilitary operatives, stormed bin Laden's compound in two helicopters. One of the helicopters
experienced a vortex ring state upon approach resulting in a grazing of the tail rotor with the
compound's wall. The damaged aircraft was "hard-landed" allowing the mission to continue, however it
had to be destroyed on-site to protect technology secrets. Back-up forces were immediately available,
and another helicopter was brought in to retrieve the commandos and relevant contents. All combined,
a total of 79 commandos and a dog (believed to have explosive-detection training) were involved in the
raid.

Within 24 hours of his death, bin Laden's body was transported to the aircraft carrier USS Carl
Vinson for final rites and burial at sea.[193] One U.S. official stated, "Finding a country willing to
accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult."[203] MSNBC
reported, "There also was speculation about worry that a grave site could have become a rallying
point for militants."[204] His death attracted protests from hundreds of people in the city of Quetta,
in southwestern Pakistan, who burned U.S. flags and paid homage to the late al-Qaeda leader.[205]
Shortly after his death, controversial claims were made regarding a will he has written a short
time after 9/11,[206] in which he guided his children not to follow the path of Jihad. Others
claimed the will to be misquoted by the media, and that his children were guided not to seek the
leadership of Jihad.[207] Following bin Laden's death, the U.S. State Department issued a
"worldwide caution" for Americans, and U.S diplomatic facilities everywhere were placed on
high alert, a senior U.S official said.[208][209] Crowds gathered outside the White House, in New
York City's Times Square, as well as the World Trade Center, the site of the September 11
attacks, to celebrate bin Laden's death.[210] Chittral News, a Pakistani news site, claimed that
some people were dismayed that Pakistan has lost its sovereignty.[211]