Following the courier
Osama bin Laden avoided detection for nearly a decade by relying on a network of couriers -- rather than phone or e-mail -- for communication. Here is a look at how intelligence officials pinpointed the messenger who unknowingly led them to bin Laden, and what transpired after they located the founder of al-Qaeda:
- Bin Laden killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan
- Video: Obama's full announcement
- Photos: Celebrations in New York and Washington, D.C.
- Analysis: A moment of unity in a divided nation
- Map: Bin Laden killed at compound in Pakistan
March 2003 | Khalid Sheik Mohammed captured by intelligence officers. He gives authorities the nicknames of several bin Laden couriers. Abu Faraj al-Libbi takes over as bin Laden's No. 3. |
July 2003 | Libbi receives a letter from bin Laden's "designated courier" stating that he will be the "official messenger" between bin Laden and others in Pakistan. Libbi moves his family to Abbottabad. |
May 2005 | Libbi is arrested by Pakistani Special Forces. He is turned over to the CIA and is kept in a secret prison until 2006, when he is transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. |
2007 | U.S. officials learn the identity of a courier who could be living with bin Laden. A protégé of Mohammed, the man was an assistant of Libbi. |
August 2010 | U.S. intelligence identifies a residence in Abbottabad where the courier and his brother are living. |
Sept. 2010 | CIA tells President Obama about the compound and that a key al-Qaeda operative appeared to be harboring a "high-value target." |
March 14, 2011 | Obama holds the first of five National Security Council meetings to discuss how to proceed. |
Early April | A Navy SEAL team uses a replica of the compound and begins trial runs of operations to kill or capture bin Laden. |
April 29 | Obama authorizes the operation before flying to Alabama to inspect tornado damage. |
May 1 | Obama announces that bin Laden was killed earlier in the day. |
GRAPHIC: Laris Karklis, Julie Tate and Karen Yourish - The Washington Post. Published May 3, 2011.
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