WASHINGTON/ABBOTTABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. helicopter raid on a mansion near the Pakistani capital Islamabad early on Monday, officials said, ending a nearly 10-year worldwide hunt for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.
U.S. officials said bin Laden was found in a million-dollar compound in the military garrison town of Abbottabad, 60 km (35 miles) north of Islamabad. After 40 minutes of fighting, bin Laden was among several people in the mansion killed. A source familiar with the operation said bin Laden was shot in the head.
"Justice has been done," President Barack Obama declared in a hastily called White House speech announcing the death of the elusive head of the militant Islamic group behind a series of deadly bombings across the world.
Leaders worldwide praised the killing as a dramatic success in the war against al Qaeda, a mood reflected in financial markets. The dollar and stocks rose, while oil and gold fell, on the view bin Laden's death reduced global security risks.
However, many analysts cautioned it was too soon to say his death would mark a turning point in the battle against a highly fractured network of militants.
Jubilant, flag-waving celebrations erupted in Washington and New York after Obama's announcement. It was the biggest national security victory for the president since he took office in early 2009 and could give him a political boost as he seeks re-election in 2012.
Obama may now also find it easier to wind down the nearly decade-old war in Afghanistan, begun after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000.
But the operation could complicate relations with Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the battle against militancy and the war in Afghanistan. Those ties have already been frayed over U.S. drone strikes in the west of the country and the six-week imprisonment of a CIA contractor earlier this year.
A U.S. official said Pakistani authorities were told the details of the raid after it had taken place.
The revelation bin Laden was living in style will also put Pakistani officials under pressure to explain how he could have been right under their noses. Residents in Abbottabad said a Pakistani military training academy is near the compound.
"For some time there will be a lot of tension between Washington and Islamabad because bin Laden seems to have been living here close to Islamabad," said Imtiaz Gul, a Pakistani security analyst.
U.S. officials said American forces were led to the fortress-like three-story building in Abbottabad after more than four years tracking one of bin Laden's most trusted couriers, whom U.S. officials said was identified by men captured after the September 11 attacks.
"Detainees also identified this man as one of the few al Qaeda couriers trusted by bin Laden. They indicated he might be living with or protected by bin Laden," a senior administration official said in a briefing for reporters in Washington.
Bin Laden was finally found after authorities discovered in August 2010 that the courier lived with his brother and their families in an unusual and high-security building in Pakistan, officials said.
"When we saw the compound where the brothers lived, we were shocked by what we saw: an extraordinarily unique compound," a senior administration official said.
"The bottom line of our collection and our analysis was that we had high confidence that the compound harbored a high-value terrorist target. The experts who worked this issue for years assessed that there was a strong probability that the terrorist who was hiding there was Osama bin Laden," another administration official said.
Bin Laden and three adult men, including a son of bin Laden, were killed along with a woman who was used as a shield by a male combatant, officials said
The New York Times said bin Laden's body was taken to Afghanistan and then buried at sea.
RESIDENT WOKEN BY BLASTS, GUNFIRE
A U.S. helicopter was lost due to a mechanical problem and its crew and assault force safely evacuated, officials said. No Americans were harmed in the operation, Obama said.
"After midnight, a large number of commandos encircled the compound. Three helicopters were hovering overhead," said Nasir Khan, a resident of the town.
"All of a sudden there was firing towards the helicopters from the ground. There was intense firing and then I saw one of the helicopters crash," said Khan, who had watched the dramatic scene unfold from his rooftop.
Authorities said bin Laden's hideaway, built in 2005, was about eight times larger than other homes in the area. It had security features including 12- to 18-foot walls topped with barbed wire, internal walls for extra privacy, and access controlled through two security gates.
It had no telephone or Internet connection.
"It is not a surprise that bin Laden was captured in an urban heartland," said Sajjan Gohel of the Asia Pacific Foundation.
"Many of al-Qaeda's senior leaders have been captured in Pakistani cities. It had become a myth that the al Qaeda leadership were hiding in caves in the tribal areas."
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