cancel2 2022
Canceled
The Navy SEAL who said he killed Osama Bin Laden has described the moment he pulled the trigger and shot the world's most wanted man in the head. Robert O'Neill, 41, a decorated veteran who fought in more than 400 separate combat missions, recounted his distinguished career in his new memoir The Operator. The new book details the historic night in 2011 he stormed the high-security compound in Abbottbad, Pakistan. As signs began to suggest the leader of al-Qaeda was indeed inside, O'Neill reminded himself to savor the moment knowing it was likely he wouldn't make it out alive.
Special forces breached the compound and a point man killed Bin Laden's last line of defence with the help of one well-rehearsed phrase before O'Neill came face-to-face with Bin Laden, who was shielded by his youngest wife in a dark room.
O'Neill describes the moment he pulled the trigger and shot Osama Bin Laden in a high-security compound in Abbottobad, Pakistan
O'Neill recognized they were on to something when a breacher blew out the metal gate to the compound, only to find a solid brick wall on the other side. While the breacher lamented their initial failure to gain entry, O'Neill said: 'No, this is good. That's a fake door. That means he's in there.' When they finally walked into the compound, it began to dawn on O'Neill that the hunt for Bin Laden - which took nearly a decade - was coming to a head. He thought: 'Holy s***, we’re here, that’s Bin Laden’s house. This is so cool. We’re probably not going to live, but this is historic and I’m going to savour this.'
The soldiers moved past rooms filled with women and children and made their way up a set of stairs after breaching another door.
O'Neill wrote: 'The woman intel analyst had told us we should expect Khalid bin Laden, Osama’s 23-year-old son, to be there, armed and ready, his father’s last line of defense. '"If you find Khalid," she told us, "Osama’s on the next floor."'=
Special forces breached the compound and a point man killed Bin Laden's last line of defence with the help of one well-rehearsed phrase before O'Neill came face-to-face with Bin Laden, who was shielded by his youngest wife in a dark room.
O'Neill describes the moment he pulled the trigger and shot Osama Bin Laden in a high-security compound in Abbottobad, Pakistan
O'Neill recognized they were on to something when a breacher blew out the metal gate to the compound, only to find a solid brick wall on the other side. While the breacher lamented their initial failure to gain entry, O'Neill said: 'No, this is good. That's a fake door. That means he's in there.' When they finally walked into the compound, it began to dawn on O'Neill that the hunt for Bin Laden - which took nearly a decade - was coming to a head. He thought: 'Holy s***, we’re here, that’s Bin Laden’s house. This is so cool. We’re probably not going to live, but this is historic and I’m going to savour this.'
The soldiers moved past rooms filled with women and children and made their way up a set of stairs after breaching another door.
O'Neill wrote: 'The woman intel analyst had told us we should expect Khalid bin Laden, Osama’s 23-year-old son, to be there, armed and ready, his father’s last line of defense. '"If you find Khalid," she told us, "Osama’s on the next floor."'=