The world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, made his last stand in Pakistan – but far from the lawless Afghan border, where he was believed to be hiding out. Instead, US forces killed him in the military town of Abbottabad, a short jog from Pakistan’s version of West Point and 75 miles north of the capital. Neither Pakistani nor American military operations have targeted the city in the past. The location raises questions as to how long the Pakistani military knew of the Saudi extremist’s hiding spot and whether they shielded him.
“It seems deeply improbable that Bin Laden could have been where he was killed without the knowledge of some parts of the Pakistani state,” says Mosharraf Zaidi, a leading Pakistani columnist, noting Abbottabad’s strategic importance. Abbottabad residents tell the Monitor that around 1 a.m. Monday morning, US Special Forces battled Bin Laden’s bodyguards some 800 yards from the Pakistani Military Academy.
Shafiq, a local who was worried about reprisal, says he saw a large fleet of helicopters firing upon the compound. He heard two small blasts, then a huge explosion followed by a helicopter crashing and engulfing the area in flames. Another resident, Muhammad Javed, says he and other residents were oblivious to Bin Laden’s presence. “For weeks, we did not see anybody coming out or going inside the huge compound,” says Mr. Javed. “We only knew that two Afghans named Arshad and Tariq were living there."
How did Pakistan not know Osama was there?
