We will kill new al-Qaeda chief Zawahiri just like Osama: US

Ayman al-Zawahiri 'lacks a peculiar charisma that Osama bin Laden had', says US officials.

US officials have said that new al-Qaeda Chief Ayman al-Zawahiri ‘lacks a peculiar charisma that Osama bin Laden had’, but warned that he would face the same fate as his predecessor.

Al-Qaeda named Egyptian born Ayman al-Zawahiri as the successor to bin Laden on Thursday. Calling the 59-year-old long-time number two as an "armchair general", the officials said that Zawahiri not only lacks combat experience, but is also a divisive figure who could divide al-Qaeda.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen warned Zawahiri to expect the same treatment like that of bin Laden, who was killed by US Special Forces in his Abbottabad hideout, Pakistan, on May 2. "As we did both seek to capture and kill – and succeed in killing – bin Laden, we certainly will do the same thing with Zawahiri," The Telegraph quoted Mullen, as saying.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has warned that the announcement should serve as a reminder of the continuing al-Qaeda threat. "First of all I think we should be mindful that this announcement by al-Qaeda reminds us that despite having suffered a huge loss... al-Qaeda seeks to perpetuate itself, seeks to find replacements for those who have been killed, and remains committed to the agenda that bin Laden put before them," he said.

"Bin Laden has been the leader of al-Qaeda essentially since its inception. In that particular context he had a peculiar charisma that I think Zawahiri does not have. I think he was much more operationally engaged than we have the sense Zawahiri has been," Gates added.

Pornography found in bin Laden hideout

A stash of pornography was
found in the hideout of Osama bin Laden by the U.S. commandos who killed him, current and former U.S. officials said on Friday.


The pornography recovered in bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, according to the officials, who discussed the discovery.


The officials were not yet sure
precisely where in the compound the pornography was discovered or who had been viewing it. Specifically, the officials said they did not know if bin Laden himself had acquired or viewed the materials.


Reports from Abbottabad have said that bin Laden's compound was cut off from the Internet or other hard-wired communications networks. It is unclear how compound residents would have acquired the pornography.


But a video released by the Obama administration confiscated from the compound showed bin Laden watching pictures of himself on a TV screen, indicating that the compound was equipped with video playback equipment.


Materials carted away from the compound by the U.S. commandos included digital thumb drives, which U.S. officials believe may have been a principal means by which couriers carried electronic messages to and from the late al Qaeda leader.


Three other U.S. officials familiar with evidence gathered during investigations of other Islamic militants said the discovery of pornography is not uncommon in such cases.

Unreleased bin Laden audio message called 'puzzling'

An unreleased audio message from Osama bin Laden, produced in late April, days before his death, in which he talks in support of the so-called "Arab Spring," was seized at the compound during the U.S. raid, according to a U.S. official.


The message refers to the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia but doesn't mention the uprisings in Libya, Yemen,
Syria or elsewhere.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the classified nature of the information.
The official said it is "puzzling" that bin Laden would "suddenly join the bandwagon on the uprisings," months after they started and not mention all of the Arab nations in turmoil. For instance, the official said it was a "head scratcher" why bin Laden would not indicate his support for the uprising against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, a man bin Laden detested.

"Why not try to inspire AQIM," said the official, referring to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a regional affiliate.

Since protests began across the Middle East, U.S. officials have said the movement undermined al Qaeda and offered an alternative to dissatisfied youth.

"The revolutions in Tunisia and in Egypt and the protests elsewhere that are leading to reforms in a number of governments I think are an extraordinary setback for al Qaeda," Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said on March 1. "It basically gives the lie to al Qaeda's claim that the only way to get rid of authoritarian governments is through extremist violence."

The U.S. official also said that among the seized materials were written communications from bin Laden expressing his desire to see U.S. President Barack Obama assassinated.

The United States expects to have further interrogations of the three wives of bin Laden who were taken into custody by Pakistani authorities after the U.S. raid on the compound. The U.S. official concurred with a description of the meeting on Friday with all three wives as hostile.

Bin Laden relatives want probe and proof of death

Relatives of Osama bin Laden want proof that the terrorist leader is dead and are calling for an investigation into how he was killed, according to Jean Sasson, an author who helped one of bin Laden's sons write a memoir.

"They just really want some answers, and they would just really like to know what exactly happened, why they weren't called," said Sasson, who worked with Omar bin Laden to pen a memoir titled "Growing Up bin Laden."

The United States says U.S. Navy SEALs killed bin Laden during a May 2 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was hiding out.

The forces collected a trove of intelligence from the compound and later buried bin Laden's body at sea. While the Obama administration has decided not to release photos of the slain bin Laden, some U.S. lawmakers will be allowed to view them.

Bin Laden's relatives "would like to have been able to have witnessed seeing the body, at least identified the body, because, you know how it is in the Middle East so many times: They really need proof or people start believing -- this has been discussed by a lot more people than me -- that many people will not believe that he's dead," Sasson told reporters Wednesday.

Her comments come a day after a statement from Omar bin Laden and his brothers was provided to The New York Times.

Asked about the statement, Sasson said Omar bin Laden -- who has publicly denounced his father's violence -- contacted her and told her he has some things to say. She said she prepared a letter for him and he approved it.

Another family member had gotten an attorney to write a letter about what relatives were thinking and feeling and Sasson said it was decided to go with the attorney's letter.

The statement published in The New York Times is from bin Laden's sons -- "the lawful children and heirs" of the notorious al Qaeda leader.

It says that despite the extensive coverage of his death, "we are not convinced on the available evidence in the absence of (a) dead body, photographs, and video evidence that our natural father is dead."

"We seek such conclusive evidence to believe the stories published in relation to 2 May 2011 operation Geronimo as declared by the President of United States Barack Hussein Obama in his speech that he authorized the said operation and killing of OBL and later confirmed his death," they said.

The statement argued that if bin Laden has been "summarily executed," "international law" might have been "blatantly violated" and that U.S. legal standards were ignored.

The statement cites the trials for late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic, and notes that Osama bin Laden didn't get a "fair trial" or "presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a court of law."

"If OBL has been killed in that operation as (the) president of United States has claimed then we are just in questioning as per media reports that why an unarmed man was not arrested and tried in a court of law so that truth is revealed to the people of the world."

"We maintain that arbitrary killing is not a solution to political problems and crime's adjudication as justice must be seen to be done," the statement said.

Three other men, including one of bin Laden's sons, and a woman were killed in the raid, and bin Laden's 29-year-old Yemeni wife, Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah, was wounded.

All three of bin Laden's wives and a number of children, some of whom were bin Laden's, were taken into Pakistani custody after the raid. A U.S. official identified the other two women as Khairiah Sabar, also known as "Umm Hamza," and Siham Sabar, or "Umm Khalid."

"It is also unworthy of the special forces to shoot unarmed female family members ... killing a female and that of one of his sons," the statement said.

"In making this statement, we want to remind the world that Omar (bin Laden), the fourth-born son of our father, always disagreed with our father regarding any violence and always sent messages to our father, that he must change his ways and that no civilians should be attacked under any circumstances.

"Despite the difficulty of publicly disagreeing with our father, he never hesitated to condemn any violent attacks made by anyone, and expressed sorrow for the victims of any and all attacks. As he condemned our father, we now condemn the president of the United States for ordering the execution of unarmed men and women," the statement said.

It also urged Pakistan "to release and hand over" the wives and the children of bin Laden. The authors of the statement called for a U.N. investigation into the event and said they will pursue justice in bodies such as the International Criminal Court if questions aren't answered.

A senior U.S. official Wednesday angrily rejected the charge that international law was violated.

"There is an inherent right of self-defense enshrined in the U.N. charter within Article 51. This is a man who is a terrorist, who declared war on the United States, killed Americans and continued to plan operations against the U.S. and its allies," the official said.

The raid in which bin Laden was killed dealt a blow to the relationship between the United States and Pakistan. The revelation that bin Laden had been living in Pakistan has fueled suspicions that Pakistani officials knew the whereabouts of the terrorist leader, while Pakistan has complained about the U.S. military incursion.

But while the ties between the CIA and Pakistan's intelligence agency are strained, they are not shut down, another U.S. official said.

This official, who did not want to be identified for safety concerns, said both sides need to continue working together.

"Both sides understand the importance of the relationship," the official said. "Cooperation is continuing, discussions are continuing, but there are issues to work through."

Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, plans to go to Pakistan soon, a Senate source familiar with his plans said Wednesday. He has visited the country at other times and has the trust and respect of many senior Pakistani officials.

Most recently, Kerry visited Pakistan to help defuse tensions over the detention of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who was jailed in Pakistan after he shot and killed two Pakistani men in what he said was a robbery attempt. He was released from jail after compensation was paid to the victims' families.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration is encouraging Kerry's trip.

"We think it's important as part of the overall efforts by the United States government to continue our collaborative relationship with Pakistan and the cooperation that we have seen in the past," Carney said.

"While we don't see eye to eye on the issues, that cooperation has led to some very important successes in our war against al Qaeda. We are working at the administration level to continue our consultations with Pakistani leaders, to continue that kind of cooperation, and are glad to see Senator Kerry make that trip as well."

In the aftermath of the U.S. raid on bin Laden's compound, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters Tuesday that the United States will be given access to bin Laden's wives and children "so they can interrogate them, they can interview them."

A senior Pakistani intelligence source had said earlier that the United States could question bin Laden's wives only if their "country of origin has been asked for permission."

Malik did not say when or where the United States would be able to question the wives. Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Tuesday U.S. and Pakistani officials were discussing the matter.

Carney said the administration is optimistic that U.S.-Pakistani cooperation "will continue with regards to" access to bin Laden's wives "and also to the materials that were collected by the Pakistanis after the U.S. commandos left" the compound where they killed bin Laden.

He described the U.S.-Pakistani relationship as "important and complicated."

Bin Laden death photos to be shown to some members of Congress

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, as well as those in the equivalent House committees, will be allowed to view the photographs taken of Osama bin Laden after he was killed, a U.S. official told reporters Tuesday.


The viewings will take place at CIA headquarters in northern Virginia at a time to be decided, the official said.

U.S. Navy SEALs killed the al Qaeda leader last week in an attack on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, confirmed that the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee would be give the opportunity.

Asked whether she planned to avail herself of it, she told reporters, "I actually haven't thought much about it, but I likely will."

Feinstein is chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
President Barack Obama decided on Wednesday that he would not release photos of the body.

"It is not in our national security interest ... to allow these images to become icons to rally opinion against the United States," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at the time. "We have no need to publish those photographs to establish that Osama bin Laden was killed."

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Osama Bin Laden killed in Pakistan by U.S. forces

Bin Laden's young Yemeni bride was confident, conservative

When 18-year-old Amal al-Sadah became the fifth wife of 43-year-old Osama bin Laden in 2000, she was "a quiet, polite, easygoing and confident teenager" who came from a big, conservative family in Yemen, a relative tol in an exclusive interview.


The relative, Ahmed, who knew al-Sadah growing up, said she came from a traditional family in Ibb, Yemen -- established and respectable but certainly with no militant views paralleling the al Qaeda leader's terrorism.
The family had no connection to al Qaeda prior to the arranged marriage, Ahmed told during an interview in Ibb on Friday.

While some accounts say a matchmaker put the couple together, the relative wasn't sure of that report, adding he heard many stories about how the two were betrothed.
"She was a very good overall person," Ahmed told reporters. "The Sadah family is a big family in Ibb. The family of Amal was like most Yemeni families. They were conservative but also lived a modern life when compared to other families.

"The family is a respected family and is well known. The family had no extremist views, even though they came from a conservative background," Ahmed said, referring to al-Sadah's parents and siblings.
The Yemeni government is apparently pressuring the family not to speak publicly about their notorious in-law, bin Laden, Ahmed said.

"From what I know, the government would give the Sadah family an extremely difficult time and always warns them from talking to the media," Ahmed said. "The government tells them that the information or comments they give would be misunderstood or misinterpreted and could hurt the family more than the government."

An al Qaeda figure in Yemen named Sheikh Rashed Mohammed Saeed Ismail said he arranged the marriage and told the Yemen Post in 2008 that he was "the matchmaker" and that al-Sadah was one of his students, describing her as "religious and pious enough."

Ismail, whose brother spent time as a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, accompanied the young bride-to-be to Afghanistan in July 2000, where she and bin Laden were married after he gave her family a $5,000 dowry.
The marriage was apparently a political alliance to shore up bin Laden's support in the land of his ancestors.
"I was told after they got married that Osama did not want to cut his ties with his ancestral home, Yemen," Ahmed said.

Back in Yemen, al-Sadah was barely spoken of again, Ahmed told reporters.
"After her marriage, we heard a little about her, and her direct family knew the dangers of talking about such topics," Ahmed said. "Even if anyone asked them about her, they would avoid talking about the issue."
At first, Yemeni authorities didn't seem aware that they were giving al-Sadah a passport in 2000 for the purpose of marrying bin Laden in Afghanistan, Ahmed said.

"Only a small number of people knew about the story of the marriage in the start, so it wasn't difficult to travel," Ahmed said. "The Yemeni government gave the family a hard time after she left Yemen. The family is still being watched and have been interrogated dozens of times. Her father also went through a lot."

The marriage was immediately fruitful, and al-Sadah and bin Laden gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Safiyah, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in the weeks after 9/11.

According to Pakistani officials this week, Safiyah was inside the Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound where bin Laden was killed Monday by U.S. Navy SEALs, and she probably saw her father shot dead.

Ahmed asserted that al-Sadah and bin Laden also bore other children, but he couldn't provide details in his brief interview with reporters.

After 9/11, bin Laden told Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir that he had plans for his youngest daughter, Safiyah.

"I became a father of a girl after September 11," he said. "I named her after Safiyah who killed a Jewish spy at the time of the Prophet. (My daughter) will kill enemies of Islam like Safiyah."

In the aftermath of bin Laden's death, al-Sadah has told interrogators that for five years, she didn't venture outside the walled compound, according to a Pakistani military spokesman.

Al-Sadah, now 29, who was wounded in the raid, said she lived in the compound in Abbottabad with eight of bin Laden's children and five others from another family, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told this week.

All of them have been in Pakistani custody since the pre-dawn U.S. commando raid Monday that killed bin Laden, and they will eventually be returned to their country of origin, Abbas said.

With five wives, bin Laden had a total of 20 children, and one of his adult sons was also reported killed in the commando assault.

Al-Sadah is the youngest of the five wives.

Taliban also confirmed Osama's death

The Taliban, one of Osama bin Laden's closest allies, confirmed late Friday that the al Qaeda founder had been killed by U.S. commandos during a raid in Pakistan.

The admission by the Taliban comes on the heels of one earlier in the day by al Qaeda, removing any question about whether bin Laden's closest allies and his terror network believed he was dead.

Bin Laden "embraced martyrdom as per the Will of the Almighty Allah during an abrupt attack by the American invading soldiers," according to a statement released by the Afghan Taliban, which had for years allowed bin Laden's terror network to operate in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama announced Sunday that bin Laden had been killed by U.S. commandos during a raid on a compound in Abbottabad, about 35 miles north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

On Friday, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden met privately with members of the Navy SEAL Team 6, the unit that conducted the raid.


Among the SEALs that Obama met at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was the one who fired the fatal shots at bin Laden, but he was not singled out to the president, a senior administration official said.

Obama and Biden thanked the commandos and were briefed on the operation by the unit members who conducted it, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to release the details of the meeting.

Officials have said bin Laden was shot twice -- once in the head, once in the chest. He was buried at sea in what U.S. officials have described as a proper Islamic burial.

Obama decided earlier this week not to release any photos of bin Laden's body, saying he did not want to inflame Arab passions or appear to gloat.

The decision drew sharp criticism from many, who wanted proof of the terrorist leader's death. Others, including many in the town where bin Laden was killed, said they did not believe he was dead.

But Friday's acknowledgement by al Qaeda and the Taliban put to rest questions about whether bin Laden's closest allies believed he had been killed by Navy SEALs.

Al Qaeda confirmed its leader's death in a Web statement and used that opportunity to taunt and threaten the United States.

"Sheikh Osama didn't build an organization that will vanish with his death or fades away with his departure," according to the statement.

The statement, which congratulates the "Islamic Nation on the martyrdom of their devoted son Osama," repeated themes and threats made over the years in prior statements by the terror group.

Al Qaeda's statement surfaced as protesters packed the streets of Abbottabad in a rally organized by Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's largest Islamist party. The demonstrators denounced the U.S. and Pakistani governments.

The statement also expressed disdain for the efforts and motives of the United States, saying that the Americans managed to kill bin Laden "by disgrace and betrayal."

"Men and heroes only should be confronted in the battlefields but at the end, that's God's fate. Still we ask, will the Americans be able -- through their media outlets, their agents, their instruments, soldiers, intelligence services and their might -- be able to kill what Sheikh Osama lived for and was killed for? How far! How impossible!"

According to the statement, bin Laden recorded an audio message a week prior to his death regarding the revolutions sweeping the Muslim world and offering advice and guidance. Al Qaeda indicated that the release of this message is forthcoming.

Meanwhile, the Taliban statement said bin Laden's death will reinvigorate the "jihad," or holy war, against the United States and its allies.

Bin Laden and the Taliban's leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, were said to have a close friendship.
The Taliban said bin Laden has achieved martyrdom, something he had long worked toward.

"He reached his ambition with bravery, dedication and commitment in the last moments of his life," the Taliban statement said.

Meanwhile, investigators poring over material seized by the SEAL team found details about a possible attack on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and the intelligence led Thursday to a nationwide alert regarding rail security.

Osama Bin Laden killed in Pakistan by U.S. forces

Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US forces in Pakistan, President Barack Obama has said.

Bin Laden was shot dead at a compound near Islamabad, in a ground operation based on US intelligence, the first lead for which emerged last August.

Mr Obama said US forces took possession of the body after "a firefight".

Bin Laden is believed to have ordered the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001 and a number of others.

He was top of the US' "most wanted" list.

DNA tests later confirmed that Bin Laden was dead, US officials said.

Announcing the success of the operation, Mr Obama said it was "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al-Qaeda".

The US has put its embassies around the world on alert, warning Americans of the possibility of al-Qaeda reprisal attacks for Bin Laden's killing.

CIA director Leon Panetta said al-Qaeda would "almost certainly" try to avenge the death of Bin Laden.

Crowds gathered outside the White House in Washington DC, chanting "USA, USA" after the news broke.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the operation sent a signal to the Taliban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"You cannot wait us out, you cannot defeat us, but you can make the choice to abandon al-Qaeda and participate in a peaceful political process," she said.

And she said there was "no better rebuke to al-Qaeda and its heinous ideology" than the peaceful uprisings across the Arab world against authoritarian governments.

A US official quoted by the Associated Press news agency said Bin Laden's body had been buried at sea, although this has not been confirmed.

Compound raided

Bin Laden approved the 9/11 attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died.

He evaded the forces of the US and its allies for almost a decade, despite a $25m (£15m) bounty on his head.

Mr Obama said he had been briefed last August on a possible lead to Bin Laden's whereabouts. He authorised the operation last week once he determined there was enough intelligence to take action.

"It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground," Mr Obama said.

On Sunday, US forces said to be from the elite Navy Seal Team Six undertook the operation in Abbottabad, 100km (62 miles) north-east of Islamabad.

US officials said Bin Laden was shot in the head after resisting.

Mr Obama said "no Americans were harmed".

US media reports said that the body was buried at sea to conform with Islamic practice of a burial within 24 hours and to prevent any grave becoming a shrine.

Giving more details of the raid, one senior US official said a small US team conducted the attack in about 40 minutes.

Three other men - one of Bin Laden's sons and two couriers - were killed in the raid, the official said, adding that one woman was also killed when she was used as "a shield" and two other women were injured.

One helicopter was lost due to "technical failure". The team destroyed it and left in its other aircraft.

One resident, Nasir Khan, told the helicopters had come under "intense firing" from the ground.

The size and complexity of the structure in Abbottabad "shocked" US officials.

It was surrounded by 4m-6m (12ft-18ft) walls, was eight times larger than other homes in the area and was valued at "a million dollars", though it had no telephone or internet connection.

The US official said that intelligence had been tracking a "trusted courier" of Bin Laden for many years. The courier's identity was discovered four years ago, his area of operation two years ago and then, last August, his residence in Abbottabad was found, triggering the start of the mission.

Another senior US official said that no intelligence had been shared with any country, including Pakistan, ahead of the raid.

"Only a very small group of people inside our own government knew of this operation in advance," the official said.

The Abbottabad residence is just a few hundred metres from the Pakistan Military Academy - the country's equivalent of West Point or Sandhurst.

Aleem Maqbool in Abbottabad says it will undoubtedly be a huge embarrassment to Pakistan that Bin Laden was found not only in the country, but also on the doorstep of the military academy.

He says residents in the town were stunned the al-Qaeda leader had been living in their midst.

The senior US official said the "the loss of Bin Laden puts the group on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse".

Bin Laden's probable successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was "far less charismatic and not as well respected within the organisation", according to reports from captured al-Qaeda operatives, the official said.

However, the root causes of radical Islam - the range of issues that enabled al-Qaeda to recruit disaffected young Muslims to its cause - remain, for the most part, unaddressed, Islamic affairs analyst Roger Hardy told

"The death of Bin Laden will strike at the morale of the global jihad, but is unlikely to end it," he warned.

'Momentous achievement'

World leaders welcomed the news of Bin Laden's death.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Bin Laden had "paid for his actions".

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said the killing was a "great victory" but added that he "didn't know the details" of the US operation.

Former US President George W Bush described the news as a "momentous achievement".

"The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done," Mr Bush said in a statement.

But a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban threatened revenge attacks against the "American and Pakistani governments and their security forces".

In Gaza, which is governed by militant group Hamas, Prime Minister Ismail Haniya condemned the killing of "a Muslim and Arabic warrior".

Security correspondent Frank Gardner says that, to many in the West, Bin Laden became the embodiment of global terrorism, but to others he was a hero, a devout Muslim who fought two world superpowers in the name of jihad.

The son of a wealthy Saudi construction family, Bin Laden grew up in a privileged world. But soon after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan he joined the mujahideen there and fought alongside them with his Arab followers, a group that later formed the nucleus for al-Qaeda.

After declaring war on America in 1998, Bin Laden is widely believed to have been behind the bombings of US embassies in East Africa, the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000 and the attacks on New York and Washington.