Osama bin Laden is dead.

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Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil, is dead, officials said -- almost 10 years after the attacks that killed about 3,000 people.

The founder and leader of al Qaeda was killed by U.S. forces Monday in a mansion in Abbottabad, north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, along with other family members, a senior U.S. official told CNN.

In an address to the nation Sunday night, U.S. President Barack Obama called bin Laden's death "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda."

"Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan," Obama said. "A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body."

A congressional source familiar with the operation said bin Laden was shot in the head.

A U.S. official told CNN that bin Laden was buried at sea. The official said his body was handled in the Islamic tradition, but did not elaborate.

Half a world away, the scene outside the White House was one of pure jubilation.

Hundreds reveled through the night, chanting "USA! USA!" Others chanted "Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!" in reference to the demise of bin Laden. Many also spontaneously sang the national anthem.

In New York, a cheering crowd gathered at ground zero -- the site where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. Strains of "God Bless America" could be heard intermittently trickling through the crowd.

One former New York firefighter -- forced to retire due to lung ailments suffered as a result of the dust from ground zero -- said he was there to let the 343 firefighters who died in the attacks know "they didn't die in vain."

"It's a war that I feel we just won," he said. "I'm down here to let them know that justice has been served."

Bob Gibson, a retired New York police officer, said the news of bin Laden's death gave him a sense of "closure."

"I never thought this night would come, that we would capture or kill bin Laden," he said. "And thank the Lord he has been eliminated."

The news also brought some relief to family members of those killed on 9/11.

Jim Riches, who lost his firefighter son when the World Trade Center's north tower collapsed, said he was gratified when he learned of bin Laden's death.




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"(My) son still isn't coming home," he told CNN. "(There's) no closure, but at last at least some justice for the murder of 3,000 Americans, finally."

"This is important news for us, and for the world," Gordon Felt, president of Families of Flight 93, said in a statement. "It cannot ease our pain, or bring back our loved ones. It does bring a measure of comfort that the mastermind of the September 11th tragedy and the face of global terror can no longer spread his evil."


Bin Laden eluded capture for years, once reportedly slipping out of a training camp in Afghanistan just hours before a barrage of U.S. cruise missiles destroyed it.

He had been implicated in a series of deadly, high-profile attacks that had grown in their intensity and success during the 1990s. They included a deadly firefight with U.S. soldiers in Somalia in October 1993, the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa that killed 224 in August 1998, and an attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 sailors in October 2000.

In his speech, Obama reiterated that the United States is not fighting Islam.

"I've made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims," Obama said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, released a statement Monday morning welcoming the death of bin Laden.

"As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam. In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and al Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide," the statement said.

While the death of bin Laden "is a significant victory," the war on terrorism is not over, said Frances Fragos Townsend, former Homeland Security advisor to President George W. Bush.

"We've been fighting these fractured cells. We've seen the U.S. government, military and intelligence officials deployed around the world," Townsend said. "By no means are these other cells nearly as dangerous as he is, but we will continue to have to fight in chaotic places."

U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world were placed on high alert following the announcement of bin Laden's death, a senior U.S. official said, and the U.S. State Department issued a "worldwide caution" for Americans.

The travel alert warned of the "enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counter-terrorism activity in Pakistan." Some fear al Qaeda supporters may try to retaliate against U.S. citizens or U.S. institutions.


More Osama bin Laden is dead.
 
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Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden







THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda -- an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.

Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we've made great strides in that effort. We've disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.

Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.

Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.

Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda's leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda.

Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must --- and we will -- remain vigilant at home and abroad.

As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not --- and never will be --- at war with Islam. I've made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.

Over the years, I've repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we've done. But it's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.

Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.

The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who's been gravely wounded.

So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda's terror: Justice has been done.

Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who've worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.

We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.

Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.

And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.

The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it's the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.

Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.
 
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Re: Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

And now we finally know why the Playstation Network has been down for 2 weeks...

...to get Bin Ladens address details from his COD Black ops account.
 
Re: Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

Maybe next time the yanks train and arm rebels they will think about them turning on them again... shame on you Ronald Reagan for creating the scumbag in the first place.
 
Re: Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

And now we finally know why the Playstation Network has been down for 2 weeks...

...to get Bin Ladens address details from his COD Black ops account.

Interesting ....
 
Re: Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

I personally would have kept his body for a one week viewing and then fed him to wild pigs/boars that would have been rounded up during the week or two his body was in review for the world to see. No quick speedy burial at sea in accordance with Islamic traditions, he did not rate a speedy burial. He deserved to have a every survivor of 911 com piss on him.
 
Re: Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

Maybe next time the yanks train and arm rebels they will think about them turning on them again
Seems like a logical and practical thought that should indeed be considered, but unfortunately I believe that U.N. Forces are in the process of doing that exact thing in Libya right now.
The quote, often attributed to Winston Churchill "Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it" (where in I believe he was paraphrasing George Santayana "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.") certainly comes to mind now.
 
Re: Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

Also seems a bit convient that it happens during a period where the president is getting terrible reviews over his policies... "oh look everyone, something shiny" to take your minds off what he's doing badly... much as the previous morons did in election runs...
 
Re: Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

Interesting observation John. I am always keen to hear what other folks around the globe think of what's going on politically here in the U.S., and while I appreciate your healthy cynicism, I don't believe that politics played much of a part in this developement. I too am almost always skeptical of such events and possess a bit of my own paranoia when it comes to matters of political expediency I suspect this was a matter of "striking while the iron was hot".
Our former president Bush would have loved to have had this opportunity after the fiasco at Tora Bora in late 2001 and even more so when his poll numbers went into the crapper near the end of his second term and our current president Obama has had crisis after crisis, problem after problem to deal with and I'm all but certain if this oppportunity would have presented itself at anytime earlier in his term he would have gladly played that card to remediate some of the heat he has been taking from his opponents as well as detractors within his own party.
 
Re: Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

wouldn't surprise me if they knew where he was for years and were just saving it up to use when it best fit the president's needs rather than as sson as they found him, noticing that the news on Fukishima has all but dried up
 
Re: Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

wouldn't surprise me if they knew where he was for years and were just saving it up to use when it best fit the president's needs rather than as sson as they found him, noticing that the news on Fukishima has all but dried up

So now time best fits president's needs? Why not one year later from now, or perhaps as early as 10 years ago? And how about the risk that Osama could have actually escaped while they were waiting for the best moment to kill him?
 
Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

Details are emerging about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. The terrorist leader was located in a compound protected by concrete walls and barbed wire. The secret 'Seal Team 6' led the attack. A SEAL team typically has eight members.

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They were transported in modified MH-60 helicopters. One was destroyed by special forces after it appeared to stall over the compound. Planners were reportedly terrified of another Black Hawk Down scenario, when a downed helicopter stranded troops in enemy territory. However, they were able to depart in a reinforcement craft.


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By all reports, the SEAL team used small arms, such as M4 or M16 machine guns. The Navy SEALS carry SIG Sauer P226 pistols for close combat.

The team probably used thermal imaging to see through walls and determine where everyone was.

Although it was initially reported that Bin Laden was killed after resisting arrest, military officials have admitted that they planned to kill him. He was shot twice in the left side of his face. 22 people were killed in the raid; presumably everyone in the compound.

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Seal Team 6 used facial recognition devices to confirm Bin Laden's identity, along with DNA testing.

Each pilot and soldier may have carried a helmet camera, transmitting live images to the White House, a source tells us.


More and continually updated at Weapons Used To Take Down Bin Laden
 
Re: Statement from President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden

Who knows why the NWO do the things they do behind the scenes... we'll never know the true motives, while the puppets in power are told what to do.
 

On Friday, the president gave the order.

This information was shared "with no other country," an official said. "Only a very small group of people inside our own government knew of this operation in advance."

With bin Laden believed found, focus shifted to taking him out. A senior U.S. security official told Reuters that it was a "kill operation," removing the option for the team to simply capture bin Laden. Other US officials have publicly said that bin Laden could have been taken alive if he did not resist capture.

Bin Laden did not surrender, retired U.S. Army general Barry McCaffrey told NBC News.

"His security agents had been told to kill him if it looked like they were about to lose him to a U.S. snatch operation," he said.



The whole world may be alive with excitement as it digests the news that the biggest manhunt in history has reached its gory conclusion, but the most important death of the 21st century so far seems to have made little impact in Abbottabad.

The shops are open, selling fruit, groceries and kebabs. The restaurants are full as local people sit in the open air smoking cigarettes and munching naan bread.

There is no tension in the air, no menacing groups of young men at street corners, no religious slogans scrawled on the walls or shouted in the streets.

Osama bin Laden met his death in the cleanest town in Pakistan, full of tidy gardens, whitewashed walls and tidily pruned hedgerows. There is no litter in the streets. The shiny signposts at every corner betray the character of this idyllic city. Abbottabad is a military cantonment. The military is omnipresent.

More At Osama bin Laden's compound



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The Navy SEAL team of military operatives who killed Osama bin Laden in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan on Sunday night was made up of some of the best-trained troops in the world. Link Removed - Invalid URL, the "Naval Special Warfare Development Group," was the main force involved in Sunday's firefight.


The daring operation began when two U.S. helicopters flew in low from Afghanistan and swept into the compound where Osama bin Laden was thought to be hiding late Sunday night Pakistan time, or Sunday afternoon Washington time. Thirty to 40 U.S. Navy SEALs disembarked from the helicopters as soon as they were in position and stormed the compound. The White House says they killed bin Laden and at least four others with him. The team was on the ground for only 40 minutes, most of that was time spent scrubbing the compound for information about al Qaeda and its plans.


The Navy SEAL team on this mission was supported by helicopter pilots from the 160th Special Ops Air Regiment, part of the Joint Special Operations Command. The CIA was the operational commander of the mission, but it was tasked to Special Forces.


"Everybody has got a dozen responsibilities and more importantly, and this is what separates these types of individuals with everbody else, they can do their job and if somebody else goes down they can fill right in and take over the additional job," Howard Wasdin, a former SEAL Team Six member who wrote a book about his experiences called "Seal Team Six" coming out May 24th, told Nightline's Terry Moran.


"We are reminded that we are fortunate to have Americans who dedicate their lives to protecting ours," President Obama said today. "We may not always know their names, we may not always know their stories, but they are there every day on the front lines of freedom and we are truly blessed."


"You have to be able to endure a lot of physical pain and sometimes emotional pain, and you just have to dig deep. It's an elite organization and so it can't be for everybody," said Paul Tharp, master chief of the Naval Special Warfare Preparatory School and a SEAL for 24 years.


Navy SEALs toil in the dark of night, tasked with the most daring, dangerous and important missions. To become a SEAL, those men completed some of the most brutal training regimens ever devised, designed to push the boundaries of even the most able service members. Only one third of recruits eventually become SEALs.


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More Osama Bin Laden Dead: The Navy SEALs Who Hunted and Killed Al Qaeda Leader




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Details of the hunt for and killing of the 54-year-old bin Laden were still being assembled Monday, but briefings by senior White House and CIA officials filled in some gaps in the account of the investigation and death of the world’s most-wanted terrorist.

U.S. intelligence officials were aware of bin Laden’s growing radicalism before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and began assembling a dossier on him.

"From the time that we first recognized bin Laden as a threat, the U.S. gathered information on people in bin Laden's circle, including his personal couriers," a senior official in the Obama administration said in a background briefing from the White House early Monday.

After the Sept. 11, attacks, "detainees gave us information on couriers. One courier in particular had our constant attention. Detainees gave us his nom de guerre, his pseudonym, and also identified this man as one of the few couriers trusted by bin Laden."

In 2009, "we identified areas in Pakistan where the courier and his brother operated. They were very careful, reinforcing belief we were on the right track."

In August 2010, "we found their home in Abbottabad," not in a cave, not right along the Afghanistan border, but in an affluent suburb less than 40 miles from the capital.

"When we saw the compound, we were shocked by what we saw: an extraordinarily unique compound."


The plot of land was roughly eight times larger than the other homes in the area. It was built in 2005 on the outskirts of town, but now some other homes are nearby.

"Physical security is extraordinary: 12 to 18 foot walls, walled areas, restricted access by two security gates." The residents burn their trash, unlike their neighbors. There are no windows facing the road. One part of the compound has its own seven-foot privacy wall.

And unusual for a compound valued at more than $1 million: It had no telephone or Internet service.

This home, U.S. intelligence analysts concluded, was "custom built to hide someone of significance."

Besides the two brothers, the U.S. "soon learned that a third family lived there, whose size and makeup of family we believed to match those we believed would be with bin Laden. Our best information was that bin Laden was there with his youngest wife."

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There was no proof, but everything seemed to fit: the security, the background of the couriers, the design of the compound.

"Our analysts looked at this from every angle. No other candidate fit the bill as well as bin Laden did," an official said.

"The bottom line of our collection and analysis was that we had high confidence that the compound held a high-value terrorist target. There was a strong probability that it was bin Laden."

That conclusion was reached in mid-February, officials said. Beginning in mid-March, the president led five National Security Council meetings on the plans for an operation.



First intelligence of a courier, then an extraordinary house with high walls — and no telephone or Internet. Bin Laden and a son are among five killed in a firefight.

More How the US tracked couriers to elaborate bin Laden compound
 
ANAGRAM: Osama Bin Laden

"Lob da man in sea."

found some others too:

A Bad Slain Omen
Nab Daemon Sail
Anal Man Bodies
Seaman And Boil
Labia Damns One

and my favourite "A Lesbian Nomad"
 
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White House Press Secretary Jay Carney spent Tuesday correcting misstatements by administration officials on Osama bin Laden’s final moments before he was gunned down Sunday.

“We provided a great deal of information with great haste in order to inform you … about the operation,” Carney said during a briefing, in a concession that administration officials have erred in their details of the raid on bin Laden's compound outside of Islamabad, Pakistan. “Obviously some of the information came in piece by piece and is being reviewed and updated and elaborated on.”

Reading from a script carefully crafted by the Defense Department, Carney clarified that bin Laden was not armed with a gun when he was killed, contrary to some reports that he fired back at U.S. military operatives. In addition, White House counterinsurgency adviser John Brennan was wrong when he suggested Monday that one of bin Laden’s wives was killed serving as a human shield for bin Laden during gunfire.

“In the room with bin Laden, a woman -- bin Laden’s wife -- rushed the U.S. assaulter and was shot in the leg but not killed. Bin Laden was then shot and killed. He was not armed,” Carney said. Separately, another woman on the first floor was killed in crossfire, which may have led to Brennan's misstatement.

The White House spokesman wouldn’t say whether bin Laden had any kind of weapon when he was killed or what kind of resistance he put up. Carney said only, “There was concern that bin Laden would oppose the capture operation and indeed he resisted.”

Carney also retraced the steps by which bin Laden’s body was buried in the North Arabian Sea. The body was washed, placed in a white sheet and in a weighted bag, at which point a military officer “read prepared religious remarks” that were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. The body was then “placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, and the deceased body eased into the sea,” he said.

The White House is still mulling whether to release a picture of bin Laden killed. While releasing such a photo would confirm once and for all to naysayers that bin Laden is dead, "It's fair to say it's a gruesome photograph," Carney said.


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More White House Revises Account Of Bin Laden's Final Moments
 
Osama Bin Laden's wife revealed she did not leave their luxury lair for five years, Pakistani investigators confirmed to reporters on Thursday.

Amal al-Sadah, 29, was the youngest wife of the Al Qaeda leader, and was shot in the leg during the raid when she reportedly rushed towards the Navy SEALs invading the compound.

She told her captors that Bin Laden was still conscious when she was shot, and that her 12-year-old daughter told her he had been shot to death, according to the BBC.

Now in custody of the Pakistani military along with the other survivors of the raid, al-Sadah has provided key details that illuminate the terrorist's secret life while hiding from the U.S. government.

The U.S. is reportedly in a tense back-and-forth with Pakistan over the opportunity to question al-Sadah.

According to some reports, al-Sadah told investigators she did not leave a single room in the five years they lived in the compound, while other questioning has revealed Bin Laden split his time between only two different rooms, including the one in which he was killed.

"He used two rooms on one of the floors," Asad Munir, a former Pakistani intelligence officer, told ABC News. "He never went anywhere."



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More Osama Bin Laden's wife says they didn't leave Pakistani compound once in five years



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Osama Bin Laden's personal files revealed that Al Qaeda once considered attacking America's rail systems on the upcoming 10th anniversary of 9/11. A document dated February 2010 shows the terrorists wanted to "tip a train by tampering with the rails so that the train would fall off the track at either a valley or a bridge," a federal bulletin said.


More Osama Bin Laden's personal files show Al Qaeda eyed attacks on U.S. rail system for 9/11 anniversary
 
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