Bin Laden: The team that killed him

3 May 2011 Last updated at 17:46 GMT

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The BBC's Steve Kingstone reports on the US Navy Seals

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Death of Bin Laden

• Updates and reaction Live
• How raid happened
• Life in compound
• Should he have been tried?

The men assigned to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden were part of the US Navy's legendary special forces unit, the Seals. Who are they?

It was years in the planning but took just 40 minutes to execute.
More than a dozen members of the US military were dropped near the high-walled, three-storey compound on the outskirts of Abbottabad in north-west Pakistan.
After a brief firefight, five people were killed, including Osama Bin Laden, who reportedly received a shot above his left eye.
All the US forces escaped unharmed, despite technical problems with one helicopter that they had to leave behind.
It says everything about their presence of mind that despite the dangers, they collected hard drives, DVDs and documents from the building before they left.
From the US point of view, the mission, codenamed Geronimo, could hardly have gone any better, a reflection on the preparation and skills of the men who carried it out.

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Steve Kingstone BBC News, Virginia Beach

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"Discreet pride" is the best way to sum up the mood. Local people are delighted that the men who faced down Bin Laden were from the Seal base at Virginia Beach, but they also understand that absolute secrecy is the foundation of Seal achievements.
The town's mayor is politely declining interviews - having earlier floated the idea of a public tribute to the special forces. And at the base which is understood to house Team Six, the Military Police were courteous but tight-lipped.
At CP Shuckers, a bustling late-night bar, I heard a surprisingly nuanced range of views on Bin Laden's death. Everyone welcomed the killing, and many were proud of the local connection. But there was no consensus as to whether the terror threat to America would now ease.
Separately, I spoke to a serving Seal, who did not want to be identified. He was mildly sceptical about the US government's account of the raid. "I'll only form a true view on this," he said, "when I hear about it directly - from the guys who were there."

Although there has been no official confirmation which team was involved, it is widely thought that it was the Seal Team Six (ST6), officially known as the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, but more commonly known as DevGru.

They are the all-star, elite group of Seals, a team of military personnel trained to carry out top secret operations.
The Seals are part of the Navy Special Warfare Command, and are also the maritime component of the US Special Operations Command, continually deployed throughout the world in operations to protect US interests.
There are 2,500 Seals in total, and they take their name from the environments in which they are trained to work - sea, air and land. But it is their highly specialised training to operate in water that they are best known for.
Their missions can be enormously varied in nature, involving combat, anti-terrorism and hostage rescues.
These guys are America's thoroughbreds, says Don Shipley, from Virginia, who spent two decades in the Navy as a Seal.
"They're the finest guys America has. Your average guy walking down the street just doesn't have it.
"The guys that become Seals have gifted eyesight, above average intelligence, and are genetically built to withstand a lot of punishment, being pounded a lot. Those are the guys that are qualified to get in but the guys that ultimately come out are thoroughbreds, they're racehorses."

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“Start Quote

I never thought about dropping out”

End Quote Stew Smith, former Seal on the gruelling training

It is often described as the toughest training available to any special forces anywhere in the world. The drop-out rate is 80-85%.

Stew Smith, a Seal for eight years, now runs fitness training courses in Maryland for people who are thinking of joining up.
He says the first six months of Seal training, known as Basic Underwater Demolition (Buds) is the toughest. It includes one period which lasts a continuous 120 hours, and involves swimming, running, obstacle courses, scuba diving and navigation.
The current Buds training course has already lost 190 recruits out of 245, and is only three weeks in, he says.
"I never thought about dropping out. People ask me why not, and I say that you have to go there in a mindset of competing, not just surviving.

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Seal Team Six (ST6)

• Elite force of Seals, based near Virginia Beach
• Selected from all the units, to carry out the most demanding missions
• Usually have five years of experience already
• The unit belongs to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) which is run at a cost of more than $1bn a year
• Involved in Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan in recent years
• Existence shrouded in mystery
• They reportedly train around the clock and can spend 300 days a year away from home

"If you're running your first marathon, your goal is just to finish the thing, you're in a survival mode. But when you're stretching out before, you look across and see a Kenyan who is trying to drop a minute off his best time.

"There is a different mindset. For me, every day in training was a competition."
After Buds, you are officially a Seal and assigned to a team but you need to have another 12 months of training with your new colleagues before you are deployed, says Mr Smith.
He believes what makes Seals special is their versatility.
"Also, having a strong confidence with the boat, and a relationship with the Navy, we have a way of respecting Mother Nature because we realise that when you're out there in the middle of the ocean, you're just a speck."
This familiarity with the vagaries of the weather teaches Seals to always have a Plan B, he says. "There's a saying in the Seals that two is one and one is nothing."

Seal training is gruelling, and many recruits drop out

The origins of the Seals can be traced to World War II, and its predecessors like the Naval Combat Demolition Unit, which was involved in the invasion of North Africa in 1942.
Their formation came out of a $100m (£61m) package by President John F Kennedy to strengthen the US special forces capability.
They were later involved in Vietnam, Grenada and in Panama, where four Seals were killed as they tried to prevent leader Manuel Noriega escaping by destroying his jet and boat.
The episode was also renowned for an incident a few days later, in which loud rock music was played all day and night to force him out of his refuge in Panama City.
In more recent years, the Seals have been heavily involved in missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But their role in the death of Osama Bin Laden writes another chapter in their history.

Gbagbo huenda akangolewa madarakani

Laurent Gbagbo huenda akalazimika kuishi uhamishoni.

Marekani imetangaza kuwa muda unayoyoma kwa rais wa Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, kuondoka madarakani na kumkabidhi madaraka mpinzani wake Alassane Outtara anayetambuliwa na jamii ya kimataifa kuwa ndiye aliyeshinda uchaguzi wa urais uliofanyika nchini humo mwezi uliopita.

Huku vikwazo vya kidiplomasia vikizidi kutolewa dhidi ya bwana Gbagbo, mjumbe wa marekani katika eneo la Afrika Magharibi, William Fitzgerald, amesema Washington inaandaa kuchukuwa hatua kadhaa ikiwa ni pamoja na kumwekea vikwazo vya usafiri bwana Gbagbo na familia yake pamoja na kufunga akaunti zake zote za benki.
Umoja wa ulaya EU nao vile vile unatathmini kuchukuwa hatua kama hizo dhidi ya bwana Gbagbo.
Bwana Fitzgerald amesema ikiwa mbinu hizo hazitafanya kazi, kuna uwezekano kwa jeshi la umoja wa Afrika litatumwa nchini humo kumng'oa bwana Gbagbo madarakani kwa lazima.
Amesema anafahamu nchini moja ya kiafrika ambayo imejitolea kumpa hifadhi ya kisiasa bwana Gbagbo ingawa hakuitaja.

WikiLeaks yamponda rais Bashir

Rais wa Sudan Omar Al Bashir

Stakabadhi za siri za ubalozi wa marekani kuchapishwa hivi punde katika tovuti ya kufichua siri ya WikiLeaks zimedai kuwa rais wa Sudan, Omar al Bashir, huenda aliiba dola bilioni tisa kutoka nchini mwake na kuzificha katika benki ya Lloyds Banking Group jijini London Uingereza.

Katika stakabadhi hiyo, afisa mmoja wa serikali ya marekani anasema kiongozi wa mashtaka katika mahakama ya kimataifa ya uhalifu, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, alijadili uwezekano wa pesa hizo zilizokuwa katika noti ya dola za marekani kufichwa jijini London baada ya kutolewa kwa waranti ya kimataifa ya kukamatwa kwa rais Bashir.
Afisa huyo alisema bwana Ocampo alikuwa amependekeza kuwa ikiwa mahali pesa hizo ziliwekwa patafichuliwa hatua hiyo itabadili mtizamo wa raia wa Sudan kumhusu rais Bashir.
Msemaji wa serikali ya Sudan alipuuzilia mbali madai hayo na Benki ya Lloyds imesema haina ushahidi unaoonyesha kuwa inahifadhi pesa kwenye akaunti ya jina la bwana Bashir na kwamba daima imekuwa ikiheshimu mfumo wa sheria katika maeneo inakoendehsa biashara.
Mapigano Darfur
Na nchini Sudan kwenyewe wanajeshi wa kulinda amani wa umoja wa mataifa wamesema kumekuwa na mapigano katika jimbo la Darfur kati ya wanajeshi wa serikali na wapiganaji wa kundi la Sudanese Liberation Movement.
Ni mara ya tatu mapigano hayo yametokea wiki hii katika eneo hilo.

Mapigano yameleta mahangaiko kwa wengi Darfur

Msemaji wa umoja wa mataifa Kemal Saiki amesema mapigano hayo yaliyotokea katika kijiji cha Khor Abeche yalikuwa ni makali zaidi.
Zaidi ya watu alfu kumi na mbili wameachwa bila makao katika eneo hilo kutokana na mapigano hayo Wengine wamekuwa wakitafuta hifadhi katika kambi ya wanajeshi wa umoja wa mataifa ambako waliojeruhiwa wanapokea matibabu.
Tangu mwaka 2003, zaidi ya watu alfu mia tatu wameuwawa huko Darfur na takriban milioni tatu wamekimbia makaazi yao.

Asamoah Gyan ashinda tuzo ya 2010

Mchezaji nyota wa Ghana na klabu ya Sunderland ya England Asamoah Gyan amenyakua tuzo ya mchezaji bora wa mwaka wa BBC 2010.

Asamoah Gyan

Mshambuliaji huyo wa Black Stars alishinda kwa kupata zaidi ya nusu ya kura zilizopigwa.
Amepata kura nyingi zaidi ya mchezaji mwenzake wa Ghana Andre 'Dede' Ayew, na pia Yaya Toure na Didier Drogba kutoka Ivory Coast na Samuel Eto'o wa Cameroon.
"Nimefurahi sana, hata siamini," amesema Gyan. "Nawashukuru sana mashabiki wote walionipigia kura." ameongeza.

Asamoah

Asamoah Gyan alipatwa na kigugumizi alipopewa taarifa hizo za ushindi kabla ya kusema:
"ilikuwa ni vigumu sana kushinda tuzo hii, hasa kutokana na wachezaji waliotajwa pamoja nami.
"Nawashukuru sana mashabiki wangu wote barani Afrika - hasa familia yangu na mashabiki wa Ghana."

Vichwa vya habari

Gyan amekuawa na mwaka wenye mafanikio makunwa kimatafa, baada ya kuifikisha Ghana katika fainali za Kombe la Mataifa ya Afrika na kushika nafasi ya pili nchini Angola, kwa kufunga mabao matatu kati ya manne ya Ghana na kucheza fainali ya kwanza katika kipindi cha miaka 18.
Katika michuano ya Kombe la Dunia nchini Afrika Kusini, mshambuliaji huyo mwenye miaka 24 aligonga vichwa vya habari kwa kupachika mabao matatu na kuipeleka Black Stars katika robo fainali.
Hata hivyo alitikisa zaidi vichwa vya habari katika mazingira tofauti, baada ya kukosa penati katika mchezo dhidi ya Uruguay ambao ungeipeleka timu ya kwanza kabisa ya Afrika katika nusu fainali.

Asamoah Gyan amekuwa na mwaka wenye mafanikio

mamilioni ya mashabiki duniani walitmtiazama mchezaji huyo akitokwa na machozi, ingawa alipata sifa nyingi kwa jinsi alivyojituliza na kufunga bao wakati wa kupiga penati na kuweza kufunga.
Licha ya kupata masikitiko katika Kombe la Dunia, michuano hiyo ilikuza fani yake, kwani aliondoka katika klabu yake ya Rennes ya Ufaransa na kujiunga na Sunderland ya England katika uhamisho ya gharama zaidi kwa klabu hiyo.

Steve Bruce

"Asamoah amekuwa mchezaji mzuri katika kikosi cha Sunderland," amesema kocha wake Steve Bruce, ambaye amemkabidhi Gyan tuzo hiyo.
"Kama mchezaji wa gharama zaidi katika klabu yetu, kulikuwa na matarajio makubwa sana, na ameweza kufanikisha hilo, vizuri kabisa.
"Ana nguvu, ana kasi na huleta kitu tofauti katika timu.
"Ameweza kucheza vizuri na washambuliaji wengine na amekuwa na mvuto hapa -- wakati wote akitabasamu na mwenye furaha.
"Nimefurahi Asamoah kupata tuzo hii, kwa hakika hii ni hadhi yake." amesema Bruce.
Shughuli ya kumtafuta mchezaji bora wa mwaka 2010 wa BBC ilianza Novemba 15, ambapo mashabiki walipata fursa ya kumchagua mchezaji bora katika orodha ya wachezaji waliochaguliwa na wataalam wa soka kutika nchi 52 za Afrika.

Farmer accidentally shot burglars

A disabled farmer trying to kill a fox accidentally shot and wounded two burglars raiding a cannabis farm he did not know existed.

Farmer accidentally shot burglars Enlarge photo

Edward Tibbs, 62, fired his shotgun three times into the dark from the seat of his mobility scooter after being woken in the early hours.

He was aiming at a fox trying to steal geese from an enclosure on his 650-acre arable farm in Crays Hill, Billericay, Essex, but hidden in the darkness were two men trying to break into an outhouse he had rented out and which now contained a secret drugs factory.
They suffered gunshot wounds to their backs and legs and suspicious hospital doctors called in police.
Several hours later, a team of police marksmen, accompanied by a helicopter, stormed into Mr Tibbs's home and arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder.
The extraordinary story only came to light after investigators told Mr Tibbs he would face no further action.
Mr Tibbs, who suffers multiple sclerosis and neuralgia, said the "horrendous" three-month Essex Police investigation "devastated" his family and business.
Speaking about the shooting, he said: "They must have been 50 or 60 yards away, probably further. If they had been 30 yards off I would have killed them.
"It was pitch black. Black as your hat. There are no lights here at all. I came out of lights, the house, and saw the fox. I know which way they go and saw movement and fired three times at it and that was that.
"I never knew I had hit anyone, no screams or hollering, no nothing. I just came back indoors."

ICC yataja watuhumiwa wa ghasia Kenya

Mwendesha mashtaka mkuu wa mahakama ya Kimataifa ya Uhalifu - International Criminal Court (ICC) imetaja majina ya Wakenya sita anaowatuhumu kuhusika kupanga vurugu zilizotokea baada ya uchaguzi mkuu nchini humo mwaka 2007.

Ghasia baada ya uchaguzi mkuu Kenya

Naibu Waziri Mkuu ambaye pia ni Waziri wa Fedha Uhuru Kenyatta, ni mmoja ya waliotajwa.
Takriban watu 1,200 waliuawa na zaidi ya wengine 500,000 walizihama nyumba zao kufuatia ghasia hizo.
Siku ya Jumatatu Rais Mwai Kibaki, alitangaza serikali itaendesha uchunguzi wake, hatua ambayo wapinzani wake wameiona ni sawa na jaribio la kuzuia watuhumiwa kupelekwa The Hague.
Ghasia hizo zilizuka baada ya wafuasi wa Bw Kibaki, kutuhumiwa walijaribu kuvuruga uchaguzi.
Uhasama huo ulimalizika baada ya Bw Kibaki na mpinzani wake kisiasa Raila Odinga walipokubaliana kuunda serikali ya mseto na Bw Odinga akawa Waziri Mkuu.
Waziri wa Viwanda Henry Kosgey, naye ametajwa na Bw Ocampo.
Waziri wa Elimu aliyesimamishwa William Ruto, Mkuu wa uendeshaji wa Radio Kass FM, Joshua Arap Sang, katibu wa Baraza la Mawaziri Francis Kirimi Muthaura na na Mkuu wa zamani wa jeshi la polisi Mohammed Hussein Ali, nao majina yao yametajwa na Bw Ocampo.
Polisi nchini Kenya wamewekwa katika hali ya hadhari iwapo baada ya kutangazwa majina hayo kunaweza kuibuka ghasia mpya.
Kila mmoja kati ya hao sita, watatumiwa hati ya kuitwa mahakamani, lakini wakigoma au wakijaribu kuingilia uchunguzi, mathalan kuwatisha mashahidi, Bw Ocampo amesema ataomba kibali cha hati ya kuwakamata.
Swali lililopo ni iwapo waliotuhumiwa hao watajisalimisha au watawekewa kinga na wanasiasa na kukwepa mkono wa sheria.
Katika taarifa yake baada ya tangazo hilo la Bw Ocampo, Rais Mwai Kibaki amesema ana matumaini Mahakama hiyo ya Kimataifa, mchakato wake utatimiza wajibu wake kwa maslahi ya taifa la Kenya.

Rais wa Kenya Mwai Kibaki

Rais Kibaki amesema, kama taifa ni lazima walenge mahitaji ya taifa ya maridhiano na kusameheana.
Amewahakikishia Wakenya kwamba serikali imeimarisha ulinzi nchi nzima.

Kenya: Ocampo atoa masharti

Muda mfupi kabla ya mahakama ya kimataifa ya uhalifu wa kivita, ICC kutaja majina, na pia kuwaita mahakamani washukiwa wakuu wa ghasia za uchaguzi nchini Kenya , kiongozi wa mashtaka Luis Moreno Ocampo ametoa masharti kadhaa ambayo anataka washukiwa hao wazingatie.

Kenya kujua mbivu na mbichi.

Kwenye taarifa iliyotolewa Jumanne alasiri kutoka mahakama hiyo iliyoko The Hague, Bwana Ocampo amesema Jumatano atatoa ombi la kuagizwa kufika mahakamani kwa washukiwa wakuu sita.
Mapema mwezi huu Bwana Ocampo alifanya ziara nchini Kenya ambapo alikutana na Rais Mwai Kibaki na waziri mkuu Raila Odinga ambapo serikali ya Kenya ilitoa hakikisho kwamba washukiwa watakaotajwa watatiwa mbaroni na kufikishwa mahakamani The Hague.

Rais Kibaki na Waziri Mkuu Raila.

Kwenye taarifa yake, Bwana Ocampo alisema ni matarajio yake kwamba baada ya kutajwa washukiwa hao wataeleza nia yao ya kujisalimisha wenyewe mahakamani, na pia akatoa masharti sita makali kuwekewa washukiwa hao.
Miongoni mwa masharti hayo ni kuwataka wasiwasiliane wenyewe kwa wenyewe, isipokuwa kupitia mawakili wao wanapoandaa taarifa za utetezi.
Anataka wawe wakiipasha mahakama ya ICC mara kwa mara kuhusu popote walipo, na pia kuhusu namna ya kuwasiliana nao.

Raila Odinga.

Ocampo pia anataka washukiwa hao wasiwakaribie au kuwasiliana na waathirika au mashahidi wa uchunguzi kuhusu ghasia za uchaguzi Kenya.
Wanatakiwa wasijaribu kuingilia kati ushahidi unaotolewa na mashahidi; Wasiingilie ushahidi uliopo, au kutatiza shughuli za uchunguzi.
Pia wanatakiwa wasijuhisishe na uhalifu mwingine wa aina yoyote.
Zaidi ya hayo wametakiwa kuitikia maagizo yote yatakayotolewa na majaji wa ICC na kwamba lazima wahudhurie vikao vyote vya mahakama wanapotakiwa , na kulipa dhamana wanapohitajika kufanya hivyo.

Mwai Kibaki.

Ocampo ameonya kwamba maagizo hayo sharti yazingatiwe , na litakapovunjwa moja atatoa ombi mahakamani wakamatwe mara moja.
Ameonya pia kwamba ataitisha kukamatwa mara moja kwa washukiwa ikiwa itadhihirika wanatoa rushwa au kuwashurutisha mashahidi.
Jumatano saa sita kwa saa za Uholanzi Bwana Ocampo anatarajiwa kutangaza majina ya washukiwa hao sita kwenye mahakama hiyo ya ICC.
Mwezi uliopita, aliyekuwa waziri wa elimu ya juu William Ruto alijipeleka mwenyewe The Hague akitaka kukutana na Ocampo, lakini haikuwezekana.
Watu wapatao 1,300 waliuwawa kwenye ghasia zilizofuatia uchaguzi wa Kenya wa mwaka 2007, kufuatia utata kuhusu matokeo ya uchaguzi huo.
Chini ya usuluhishi wa aliyekuwa katibu mkuu wa Umoja wa Mataifa Koffi Annan, makubaliano yalifanyika ya kuunda serikali ya umoja wa kitaifa kati ya Rais Mwai Kibaki na waziri mkuu Raila Odinga.