Bin Laden killed by American forces, Obama says

President Barack Obama has announced the death of Osama bin Laden, killed in Pakistan during a CIA/Navy Seals operation.

The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — President Obama announced late Sunday that Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, was killed in a firefight during an operation he ordered inside Pakistan, ending a 10 year manhunt for the world’s most wanted terrorist. American officials were in possession of his body, he said.

The fate of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Al Qaeda number two in command, was unclear.

The death of Mr. Bin Laden is a huge punctuation in the American-led war on terrorism. What remains to be seen is whether the death of the leader of Al Qaeda galvanizes his followers by turning him into a martyr, or whether it serves as a turning of the
gives further impetus to the Obama administration to bring American troops home.

Update: This post was amended to add that the Navy SEAL Team Six, a top military counter-terrorism unit, carried out the operation with the help of the CIA.