빈 라덴 사살 - 테러단 알 카에다 수장 제거 : Bin Laden Killed in Pakistan

3천여명이 넘는 사망자와 Twin Tower, Pentagon, 등의 참사가 일어난 2001년 9월 11일의
대 미국 테러의 주모자인 오사마 빈 라덴이 10년 만에 드디어 미국의 집요한 추적 끝에
살해되었다. 5월 1일 자정을 조금 넘어 오바마 대통령의 긴급 기자 회견에서 특수요원이
파키스탄의 비밀 아지트에서 그를 살해했고 DNA도 검사, 확인하고 시신을 확보하였다는
사실을 전세계에 알리므로 만천하에 드러났다.

2일 0시(파키스탄 현지)를 갓 넘긴 시각, 파키스탄 북부 가지 공군기지. 완전히 무장한 20여명의 네이비실(Navy SEAL·미 해군 대테러 부대) 대원들이 헬기에 조용히 몸을 실었다. 잠시 뒤, 활주로에서 이륙한 네 대의 헬기가 남쪽으로 향하기 시작했다. 두 대는 파키스탄 헬기, 두 대는 미군 헬기였다. 

헬기들이 향한 곳은 파키스탄 수도 이슬라마바드 북쪽 100km 지점의 아보타바드의 비랄 마을. 아프가니스탄 접경 지역에서 차로 반나절이면 도착하는 이곳은 파키스탄 군 기지가 자리해 있어 군 관련 시설과 군인들의 가옥이 밀집해 있는 지역이다. 

이들에게 주어진 임무는 이 지역에 숨은 오사마 빈 라덴의 제거. CIA가 반년 이상을 매달린 끝에 겨우 찾아낸 은신처였고, 이번에 실패하면 언제 다시 기회가 올지 모르는 상황이었다.

상황을 목격한 현지 주민 등에 따르면 교전은 새벽 1시15분쯤 시작됐다. 헬기들이 빈 라덴의 거처를 향해 접근하자 빈 라덴 측 병사들은 지붕 위에서 로켓식 유탄 발사기를 발사하며 격렬하게 저항했고, 이 과정에서 헬기 1대가 화염에 휩싸인 채 추락했다. 

잠시 뒤 네이비 실 대원들이 헬기에서 내려와 향한 곳은 파키스탄 군사학교에서 불과 100m 남짓 떨어진 한 고급 주택. 5.5m에 이르는 높은 담 위에 다시 철조망이 둘러쳐진 철옹성 같은 주택이었다. 

곧이어 주택을 지키고 있던 무장 세력과 대원 간의 총격전이 벌어졌다.

총성이 멎은 것은 약 40여분 뒤. 현장에서는 머리에 관통상을 입은 빈 라덴과 그의 아들 한 1명을 포함한 남자 3명, 여자 1명이 시신이 발견됐다. CNN에 따르면, 빈 라덴 일당은 사망한 여성을 ‘인간 방패’로 활용했고, 그 과정에서 총에 맞은 것으로 전해졌다. 미군 사상자는 없는 것으로 전해졌다.

외신에 따르면, 평소 이 주택으로 들어가는 유일한 통로는 경비원 2명이 지키고 있었고 건물의 3층 베란다에는 사생활 보호를 위해 2m짜리 담도 설치돼 있었다. 미국 정보 당국은 작전을 진행하기 전부터 이 호화 주택을 감시해온 미 정보 당국은 집 내부로 연결되는 전화선이나 인터넷 전선이 없다는 사실을 눈여겨봤다. 또 이 주택에 거주하는 사람들은 쓰레기를 외부로 배출하지 않고 내부에서 직접 소각한다는 사실에도 주목했다.

정보 당국은 100만 달러에 이르는 이 호화 단지가 5년 전 테러 지도자를 위해 지어진 것으로 추정했으나, 현 거주자가 빈 라덴이라는 사실은 수개월에 걸친 확인 작업을 거친 뒤에야 확신할 수 있었던 것으로 전해졌다. 한편 이번 작전은 미국 정부 내 소수 인사만이 미리 알았을 뿐 파키스탄을 포함한 어느 외국 정부에도 사전에 통보되지 않는 등 고도의 보안 속에 진행됐다는 게 미국 측 당국자들의 설명이다. 

그러나 CNN은 파키스탄 고위 정보 당국자를 인용, 이번 공격이 파키스탄과의 협력하에 이뤄졌으며 현장에 파키스탄 정보부(ISI) 요원들도 있었다고 보도했다. 

익명의 미국 관리는 오바마 대통령이 작전을 미 해군 특수부대인 네이비 실(Navy SEAL)의 소수정예 요원들에게 맡겼으며 리언 파네타 미 중앙정보국(CIA) 국장에게 이들에 대한 직접적인 지휘권을 부여했다고 전했다.

10년간 추적… 결국 관타나모서 '빈 라덴 연락책' 정보 입수

◆연락책 추적 통해 은신처 파악

빈 라덴의 꼬리가 잡힌 것은 그의 연락책 때문이었다. 미 정보당국은 몇년 전 관타나모 수용소에 수감된 알카에다 조직원으로부터 빈 라덴 연락책의 가명을 입수했다.

2007년엔 그 연락책의 실명을 알아냈다. 이후 2년 동안 그 연락책의 행방을 뒤쫓은 끝에 2009년 대략적인 거주지역을 파악했다. 지난해 8월엔 빈 라덴의 연락책이 살고 있는 주택 위치를 알아냈다. 빈 라덴의 은신처였다.

놀랍게도 빈 라덴이 은신해 있던 곳은 산속 동굴도, 험준한 계곡 지역도 아니었다. 아프가니스탄의 동굴만 뒤지던 미 정보당국은 허를 찔린 셈이었다. 빈 라덴의 거처는 파키스탄 수도 이슬라마바드에서 북쪽으로 100㎞ 떨어져 있는 휴양도시 아보타바드에 세워진 100만달러(약 11억원)짜리 대저택이었다. 저택은 퇴역 군장성 등 파키스탄의 전직 고위관리나 부유층이 사는 고급 주택가에 있었다. 이 저택은 다른 집들보다 8배 정도 컸다.

2001년 12월 미군은 빈 라덴이 아프가니스탄 북서부 산악지대인 토라보라 동굴에 은신해 있다는 정보를 입수하고 공습을 감행했지만 그는 도망쳤다. 미 연방수사국(FBI)은 빈 라덴에게 5000만달러의 현상금을 내걸었다. 하지만 이를 비웃기라도 하듯 그는 지난해 3월 알 자지라를 통해 공개된 육성 성명을 통해 9·11 테러 주동자인 칼리드 셰이크 모하메드의 사형이 집행되면 미국인들을 살해하겠다고 위협했다.

Osama bin Laden Compound

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US Forces Kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

Key details:

• Al-Qaida leader killed in operation led by Navy SEALs, CIA forces
• DNA evidence: 99.9 certain it was bin Laden
• His compound was located close to Pakistan army base
• President Obama says 'justice has been done'
• Former President Bush hails 'momentous achievement' 

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans, was slain Sunday in his luxury hideout in Pakistan in a firefight with U.S. forces, ending a manhunt that spanned a frustrating decade.

"Justice has been done," President Barack Obama declared late Sunday as crowds formed outside the White House to celebrate. Many sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "We Are the Champions."

Hundreds more waved American flags at ground zero in New York — where the twin towers that once stood as symbols of American economic power were brought down by bin Laden's hijackers 10 years ago.

Bin Laden, 54, was killed after a gunbattle with Navy SEALs and CIA paramilitary forces at a compound in the city of Abbottabad. He was shot in the left eye, NBC News' Savannah Guthrie reported citing an unnamed U.S. official.

In a background briefing with journalists, U.S. officials suggested that Bin Laden opened fire on the American forces before he was killed.

DNA tests  The special operations forces were on the ground for less than 40 minutes and the operation was watched in real-time by CIA director Leon Panetta and other intelligence officials in a conference room at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., an official said on condition of anonymity.

The team returned to Afghanistan with bin Laden's body, U.S. officials said. NBC News reported that bin Laden was later buried at sea.

Islamic tradition calls for a body to be buried within 24 hours, but finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult, a senior administration official said.

Two Obama administration officials told the Associated Press Monday that DNA evidence shows the body was bin Laden's, with 99.9 percent confidence.

Other U.S. officials said one of bin Laden's sons and two of his most trusted couriers also were killed, as was an unidentified woman who was used as a human shield.

'A kill operation' Al Arabiya TV reported that two of bin Laden's wives and four of his children were also captured during the operation.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior U.S. security official told Reuters that Navy SEALs dropped by helicopter to the compound were under orders to not capture bin Laden.

"This was a kill operation," the official said.

in Laden's guards opened fire on the commandos and his final hiding place was left in flames, witnesses said.Intelligence officials weren't certain that bin Laden would be at the site as there was "no smoking gun that put him there," NBC News reported. But Bin Laden was indeed holed up in a two-story house 100 yards from a Pakistani military academy when four helicopters carrying U.S. forces swooped in .

One of the choppers "inexplicably" stopped working during the operation and landed, sources told NBC News. The chopper was later destroyed by the U.S. team and the raid went forward.

U.S. officials said no Americans were hurt in the operation. Abbottabad is home to three Pakistan army regiments and thousands of military personnel and is dotted with military buildings. BBC News described the army site as the country's equivalent to West Point.

This aerial photo, released May 2, 2011 by the Pentagon, shows a view of the compound in Abbottbad, Pakistan where a U. S. military operation was conducted and Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden was killed on May 1

Osama bin Laden's hideoutPresident Barack Obama is pictured after announcing the death of Osama bin Laden, from the East Room of the White House in Washington on Sunday. The al-Qaida was killed earlier that day in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, Obama said.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, Sunday, May 1. Also pictured are Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

People look out at Ground Zero a day after the death of Osama Bin Laden on Monday, May 2 in New York City.

People look at a display of newspaper front pages at the Newseum in Washington

Anti-government protestors watch a television broadcasting a report about the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
A crowd outside the White House in Washington cheers on Sunday upon hearing the news that terrorist leader Osama bin Laden is deadPeople celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden in Times Square in New York City on Sunday nightU.S. Marines of Regiment Combat Team 1 watch TV at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Monday as President Obama announces the death of Osama bin Laden. Obama said late Sunday U.S. time that justice had been done after the September 11, 2001, attacks, but warned that al-Qaida will still try to attack the U.S.Actor Rob Lowe with a New York City fireman in Times Square in New York on MondayCrowds gather at ground zero in New York early Monday, shortly after President Obama announced that a U.S. military operation had killed Osama bin Laden in a firefight at a large mansion in PakistanA driver and passengers celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden in the streets of Lawrence, Kan., on Sunday. President Barack Obama announced Sunday night, May 1, that Osama bin Laden was killed in an operation led by the United StatesPeople light candles in the streets at Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center, in response to the death of Osama bin Laden on Sunday night, May 1, in New York City.People shout slogans while holding placards and photographs of Osama bin Laden as they celebrate his killing in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on MondayAfghan President Hamid Karzai, center, is flanked by vice presidents Mohammad Qasim Fahim, left, and Mohammed Karim Khalili, right, as he addresses the media at the presidential palace in Kabul on Monday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that the killing of Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan proved Kabul's long-standing position that the war on terror was not rooted in Afghanistan.People buy newspapers reporting the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden at local newspaper printing press in Karachi, Pakistan on Monday.Dionne Layne, right, hugs Mary Power in reacton to the news of the death of Osama bin Laden, Monday, May 2, in New York. At left is 1 World Trade Center, also known as the Freedom Tower, which is currently under construction.People celebrate in New York Time Square after President Obama announced the death of bin LadenPeople gather at White HouseA man stands at the street light as people gather around ground zero in New York city. May 2, 2011 after president Obama announced that US military had killed Osama bin Laden in a firefight at a large mansion in Pakistan earlier in the day of May 1, 2011.A firefighter waves to crowds as people celebrate after Al Quaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan.A large crowd celebrate at the fence of the north side of the White House, pose for photograph, chant "USA" and sing the national anthem.

Angry supporters of Pakistani religious party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam burn a representation of the United States during a rally to condemn the killing of Osama bin Laden in Quetta, Pakistan on Monday.

Joyce and Russell Mercer, parents of New York Firefighter Scott Mercer who lost his life on 9/11, sit before a news conference concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden at the law offices of Norman Siegel on Monday in New York City.

An armored Park Police vehicle is parked at the base of the Washington Monument, May 2, in Washington, DC. The DC area and other places around the nation have stepped up security after it was announced that Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with U. S. forces in Pakistan

Ashley Gilligan reflects on the death of Osama bin Laden at NBC Studios in New York on Monday. Gilligan lost her father, Ronald Gilligan, in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Andrea Masano visits the memorial to Massachusetts victims of the attacks of 9/11 in Boston, Mass. on Monday.

Women read an extra edition of a Japanese newspaper in Tokyo, May 2, reporting the death of Osama bin Laden.

Kristen Grazioso, 14, places balloons on a carved stone Monday in Middletown, N.J., that honors her father, who was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. There are 37 stones in the garden representing those from Middletown who died in the attack.

Visitors, on Monday, look over the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., following the announcement that Osama Bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan a day earlier. Nearly 10 years after Sept. 11, 2001 construction is underway to erect a formal memorial at the crash site.

Danielle and Carie LeMack and Christie Coombs, who lost relatives on 9-11, pause during a ceremony to honor the victims, Monday, May 2 at the Garden of Remembrance in Boston, Mass. Families of local victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks gathered at the 9/11 memorial to reflect upon the death of Osama Bin Laden.

Part of a damaged helicopter is seen lying near the compound where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan on Sunday, May 1.

Tara Henwood Butzbaugh shows a photo of her family at the World Trade Center site in New York on Monday. Her brother was killed in the 9/11 attack.

New York City police officers with Operation Hercules arrive at the Armed Forces recruitment center in New York's Times Square on Monday.

A vendor arranges newspapers at his stall in Bhopal, India on Monday.

Supporters of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden shout anti-American slogans, after the news of his death, during a rally in Quetta on Monday.

A screen grab from the FBS's Most Wanted Website, taken May 2,ows the status of Osama bin Laden as deceased. The al-Qaida leader was killed in a U.S. raid on a mansion near the Pakistani capital Islamabad early on Monday, officials said.

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