But when the al-Kuwaiti brothers headed to the local bazaars, they would stock up not just on naan bread and staples, but on Coca-Cola, Pepsi and candy, store owners later said. The compound stockpiled branded medications, including Calpol, a British brand of pain and fever medication for children.
The terrorist leader even kept a stash of Just for Men hair dye to cover the gray in his hair and beard. A snub-nosed Kalashnikov, a memento from his days fighting Russian invaders in Afghanistan, rested on a shelf above the door. Yellow flowered curtains screened the room from curious eyes, and the walls were filled with hundreds of tapes audio and video carefully organized in rows. Eventually he rebelled against indoor confinement, sending his son Khalid to buy him a hat with a wide brim, like a cowboy hat, that would mask his features if he went outside late in the day.
Khalid also oversaw the construction of a gazebo and trellises that would prevent a satellite from obtaining a clear image of his face or physique. The al-Kuwaiti brothers disguised how many people lived in the compound by ensuring that no fewer than four separate electric meters were installed.
Even as the Americans prepared to launch their attack on the compound, relationships were breaking down inside its walls. Exhausted by meeting the needs of a fluctuating but steadily expanding number of confined bin Laden family members and those of their own growing families, the al-Kuwaiti brothers gave the al Qaeda chief an ultimatum.
Before the conflict was fully resolved and a new routine established, SEAL team six arrived by helicopter the night of May 2, , and Osama, the al-Kuwaiti brothers and some of their family members were dead. Zain Baba, 84, has the distinction of being the first, and closest neighbour of the Bin Ladens. His small house was across the street.
Every morning he comes out and sits under a huge maple tree, a sort of assembly point for the retired men of the neighbourhood. Until that night, he and his son Shamrez Khan worked as night watchmen for Arshad Khan, an ethnic Pashtun who lived in the compound with his family and that of his brother. Zain Baba and his son had access to some parts of the compound.
They were picked up by Pakistani intelligence after the raid and kept in custody for two months. They wanted to know if we saw Osama in the compound. We kept telling them that we didn't see anyone except the two brothers and some children. Five years later, he is still on the security radar. When foreign journalists come to the area, they want to talk to him, he says. He recounts how a French journalist who interviewed an aged neighbour of his was recently escorted away by security officials.
The old man they had interviewed died later that night. The next day the men in plain clothes came to see Zain Baba and asked him about the whereabouts of his son, Shamrez. I don't want to give any more interviews to the media.
Even when the media speak to someone else, the security people come asking for me. He has a wryness about him and a fatalistic approach, but ultimately no true fear. He believes little can happen to him now - it is a situation that tells more about the paranoia of the security agencies than his safety. Shakil Rafiq is a changed man. He used to be an amiable and responsive man who mixed with his neighbours.
A small-time construction contractor, Mr Rafiq's business picked up after he was employed by Arshad Khan to supply labour and material for the construction of the Bin Laden compound. Mr Rafiq's life changed a few years later, after the US raid. Security agents raided his house and took him away. A neighbour who witnessed the arrest said the street was taken over by men in plain clothes and Mr Rafiq was escorted out carrying a shoulder bag.
A security official who was part of the post-raid investigations says Mr Rafiq was picked up after it was found that various facilities were registered in his name.
He didn't return for several months. In the intervening years, Mr Rafiq has disappeared several times for varying durations, the latest being just a few months ago, say neighbours and local journalists.
He did not respond to several attempts by the BBC to contact him. One neighbour said: "Every time he walks out carrying a shoulder bag, it's a sign that he is going to be away for a while. Where exactly? Nobody knows. Did policeman Yasir Khan know more than he ought to?
Did he have direct links with residents of the compound? Nobody will know. He was posted to Abbottabad's police intelligence department back in May , and did not live far from the compound.
He was often seen hanging around in the area in plain clothes, sniffing for information like all spies do, says one senior security source. Apr 27, pm. Good riddance. Osama ruined the name of Islam.
However, Obama took full benefit of this raid that was initially tipped by Pakistan intellegence agencies and an operation assisted by Pakistan army. Recommend 0. Apr 28, am. Why was the body never shown to the world? It was only a face saving drama to get Obama re-elected. Ten yrs after the death of a mass murdering Terrorist and some still have sympathy?
This guy was the worst of the worst - even abandoned by his own country. Good riddance! If we want to change our image - we have to make a real change! Just Saying. Lived by the gun, died by the gun! Pakistan tried to benefit from the militants and the American war on terror but became a victim of both in a cruel turn in history. Farhan ahmad. He was certainly a martyr.
Akil Akhtar.
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