How Osama Bin Laden would have looked in a Stetson hat
Occasionally he’d stroll across the field to chat to his eldest son and
admire his cow, while munching on an apple and some chocolate
He spent his final months wandering round the garden in a big cowboy hat while teaching his grandchildren to grow vegetables.
Occasionally
he’d stroll across the field to chat to his eldest son and admire his
cow, while munching on an apple and a bit of chocolate to keep his
strength up.
And every Friday morning he’d meet up with the boys for a chinwag after prayers, before settling down to a family meal.
It sounds like the perfect life for an eccentric grandpa, surrounded by devoted family in a rural haven.
Except this was the final act in the dramatic life of the world’s most wanted man – terror chief and mass murderer Osama bin Laden, as revealed in the fascinating details of Pakistan’s official report into his death.
This week a judge-led commission slammed the Pakistani government, military and intelligence services for failing to detect the al-Qaeda leader
during the 10 years he lived in the country – six of them in a compound
in Abbottabad within sight of the national military academy.
The inquiry called it “a national disaster.”
Bin Laden was killed by US special forces in a night raid on May 2, 2011.
The
Abbottabad Commission accused America of “acting like a criminal thug”
by sending in four helicopters carrying Navy Seals, calling the
operation “an act of war against Pakistan”.
Yet it blames the
country’s own leadership for “gross incompetence”, saying the ISI,
Pakistan’s intelligence services, had “closed the book” on bin Laden by
2005, and was no longer actively hunting him.
But, most
fascinating of all, the 336-page report contains first-hand accounts
from his three wives, and the wife of his closest aide, of life on the
run with the frugal recluse, doting grandfather, religious extremist and
paranoid terrorist.
It also reveals blunders and missed clues that could have seen him captured alive years earlier.
After the September 11 attacks bin Laden fled to Afghanistan, narrowly escaping capture in the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001.
He entered Pakistan in mid-2002, moving to Swat where he met Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11.
He turned up next at a house in Haripur, north Pakistan, with his trusted guards, brothers Ibrahim and Abrar al-Kuwaiti.
They
were joined by his second wife, Sharifa Siham, who had been in hiding,
several children and grandchildren and his third and youngest wife,
Amal.
While there Amal gave birth to two of her five children.
She was taken to a clinic, where it would become obvious she was not local as she spoke Arabic not Urdu.
Bin Laden feared this might raise suspicions so relatives told doctors that Amal was “goongi” – deaf and dumb.
In August 2005 bin Laden moved to the custom-built compound in Abbottabad, 50 miles from Islamabad.
Watching TV: Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan
His guards and their wives lived downstairs while bin Laden –
known to the aides’ unsuspecting families as “The Sheikh” – and his
16-strong clan lived in total seclusion upstairs.
Again, clues were missed that the mystery man could have been bin Laden.
There
were eight electricity and gas connections for the “two families” said
to live there and bin Laden’s tiny third-floor bolt-hole had no planning
permission.
The report says: “They kept a very low profile. They
never exposed themselves to public view. They had minimum security. OBL
[Osama bin Laden] successfully minimised any ‘signature’ of his
presence. His minimal support group blended with the surrounding
community... his wives, children and grandchildren hardly ever emerged.
No one ever visited them.”
The report revealed that when bin Laden
went into his yard to exercise he would wear a large brimmed cowboy hat
to obscure his features in case satellite cameras or drones were
spying.
He also became paranoid about poplar trees on the edge of
the compound, fearing they might provide cover for observers. He wanted
to buy them and chop them down.
He had shaved off his iconic beard
while in Swat and his aides warned locals not to ask questions about
the tall stranger who spoke Arabic.
And, as the Mirror revealed yesterday, bin Laden avoided capture when his driver was stopped for speeding because a cop failed to recognise the passenger.
In
February 2011, three months before his death, bin Laden’s first wife,
Khairiyya, who had been in hiding in Tehran for eight years, escaped to
join him in Abbottabad.
After his death bin Laden’s wives spent five months in custody before being questioned by the Commission.
Revealing
he would take it in turns to spend nights with them, they also told how
the terror chief had lived “extremely frugally”.
They said he was
not fond of personal possessions, although the US forces who killed him
allegedly took away a jewellery box containing gold coins and two gold
and emerald lockets. He had very few clothes.
“Before coming to
Abbottabad he had just three pairs of shalwar kameez [traditional dress]
for summer, and three pairs for winter,” the report said. “In addition
he had a black jacket and two sweaters.
“When asked about lack of security they said he trusted in Allah for protection.”
ABC News shows the interior bedroom in the mansion where Osama Bin Laden
Unofficial US accounts suggest bin Laden suffered from
Addison’s disease, a condition affecting the adrenal glands which causes
stomach pain and weakness.
According to his wives, the report
says, “he treated himself with traditional Arab medicine?... and when he
felt sluggish he would take chocolate with an apple.”
The family
could not pass time watching TV or surfing the web because bin Laden had
no internet, satellite or phones to avoid detection.
His children
and grandchildren were never allowed to play with those of his two
aides and were separated from them by a wall in the yard.
They spent the bulk of their lives within the compound’s walls where bin Laden taught them the Koran and gardening.
The report reveals: “The children of the OBL family led extremely regimented and secluded lives.
"OBL
personally saw to the religious education of his grandchildren and
supervised their play time, which included cultivating vegetable plots
with simple prizes for the best performances.”
His son Khalid, 23,
had a pet cow bought from a local man who was also hired to plough the
field in the compound. But Khalid saw to all the DIY, even fixing the
plumbing, to avoid having to call in workmen who might become
suspicious.
Every Friday morning bin Laden, his two aides and all the males, would pray together downstairs and spend time talking.
But
he never discussed religion with his wives, even though the elder two
were highly educated and had post-graduate degrees, Khairiyya, in Arabic
literature and Sharifa in Islamic Studies.
The female children were completely segregated from the men from the age of three.
But,
ironically, it was Rahma, daughter of the terrorist’s right-hand man
Ibrahim and his wife Maryam, who came closest to blowing his cover.
The nine-year-old was curious about why “the uncle who lives upstairs” never went to the bazaar.
Her
father pretended he was too poor to buy anything, and after that the
caring youngster referred to him as “Miskeen Kaka,” or “Poor Uncle” in
Urdu.
Rahma used to visit part of bin Laden’s home to take lessons
from one of his daughters – but one day came across “Poor Uncle” on the
staircase, and said hello.
“After that her interaction with the OBL family ended abruptly,” said the report.
But then, a few months before the raid, Rahma was watching the TV her father allowed his wife and children to watch.
An Al Jazeera news report carried a picture of bin Laden and bright Rahma recognised “Poor Uncle”.
Her father panicked and got rid of the TV. Mum Maryam became suspicious and demanded to know the real identity of The Sheikh.
The report says: “He told her it was none of her business but she complained he did not trust her and stopped talking to him.
“Ibrahim at last confessed to Maryam that their daughter was right. ‘Miskeen Kaka’ was none other than Osama bin Laden.
“Maryam
told Ibrahim she was not scared by the prospect of his martyrdom. But
she did fear his arrest and torture. She would rather he was martyred
than captured.”
On May 2, 2011 Ibrahim was killed alongside bin
Laden and his son Khalid, as well as his own brother Abrar and
sister-in-law Bushra.
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How Osama Bin Laden would have looked in a Stetson hat
Occasionally he’d stroll across the field to chat to his eldest son and
admire his cow, while munching on an apple and some chocolate
He spent his final months wandering round the garden in a big cowboy hat while teaching his grandchildren to grow vegetables.
Occasionally
he’d stroll across the field to chat to his eldest son and admire his
cow, while munching on an apple and a bit of chocolate to keep his
strength up.
And every Friday morning he’d meet up with the boys for a chinwag after prayers, before settling down to a family meal.
It sounds like the perfect life for an eccentric grandpa, surrounded by devoted family in a rural haven.
Except this was the final act in the dramatic life of the world’s most wanted man – terror chief and mass murderer Osama bin Laden, as revealed in the fascinating details of Pakistan’s official report into his death.
This week a judge-led commission slammed the Pakistani government, military and intelligence services for failing to detect the al-Qaeda leader
during the 10 years he lived in the country – six of them in a compound
in Abbottabad within sight of the national military academy.
The inquiry called it “a national disaster.”
Bin Laden was killed by US special forces in a night raid on May 2, 2011.
The
Abbottabad Commission accused America of “acting like a criminal thug”
by sending in four helicopters carrying Navy Seals, calling the
operation “an act of war against Pakistan”.
Yet it blames the
country’s own leadership for “gross incompetence”, saying the ISI,
Pakistan’s intelligence services, had “closed the book” on bin Laden by
2005, and was no longer actively hunting him.
But, most
fascinating of all, the 336-page report contains first-hand accounts
from his three wives, and the wife of his closest aide, of life on the
run with the frugal recluse, doting grandfather, religious extremist and
paranoid terrorist.
It also reveals blunders and missed clues that could have seen him captured alive years earlier.
After the September 11 attacks bin Laden fled to Afghanistan, narrowly escaping capture in the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001.
He entered Pakistan in mid-2002, moving to Swat where he met Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11.
He turned up next at a house in Haripur, north Pakistan, with his trusted guards, brothers Ibrahim and Abrar al-Kuwaiti.
They
were joined by his second wife, Sharifa Siham, who had been in hiding,
several children and grandchildren and his third and youngest wife,
Amal.
While there Amal gave birth to two of her five children.
She was taken to a clinic, where it would become obvious she was not local as she spoke Arabic not Urdu.
Bin Laden feared this might raise suspicions so relatives told doctors that Amal was “goongi” – deaf and dumb.
In August 2005 bin Laden moved to the custom-built compound in Abbottabad, 50 miles from Islamabad.
Watching TV: Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan
His guards and their wives lived downstairs while bin Laden –
known to the aides’ unsuspecting families as “The Sheikh” – and his
16-strong clan lived in total seclusion upstairs.
Again, clues were missed that the mystery man could have been bin Laden.
There
were eight electricity and gas connections for the “two families” said
to live there and bin Laden’s tiny third-floor bolt-hole had no planning
permission.
The report says: “They kept a very low profile. They
never exposed themselves to public view. They had minimum security. OBL
[Osama bin Laden] successfully minimised any ‘signature’ of his
presence. His minimal support group blended with the surrounding
community... his wives, children and grandchildren hardly ever emerged.
No one ever visited them.”
The report revealed that when bin Laden
went into his yard to exercise he would wear a large brimmed cowboy hat
to obscure his features in case satellite cameras or drones were
spying.
He also became paranoid about poplar trees on the edge of
the compound, fearing they might provide cover for observers. He wanted
to buy them and chop them down.
He had shaved off his iconic beard
while in Swat and his aides warned locals not to ask questions about
the tall stranger who spoke Arabic.
And, as the Mirror revealed yesterday, bin Laden avoided capture when his driver was stopped for speeding because a cop failed to recognise the passenger.
In
February 2011, three months before his death, bin Laden’s first wife,
Khairiyya, who had been in hiding in Tehran for eight years, escaped to
join him in Abbottabad.
After his death bin Laden’s wives spent five months in custody before being questioned by the Commission.
Revealing
he would take it in turns to spend nights with them, they also told how
the terror chief had lived “extremely frugally”.
They said he was
not fond of personal possessions, although the US forces who killed him
allegedly took away a jewellery box containing gold coins and two gold
and emerald lockets. He had very few clothes.
“Before coming to
Abbottabad he had just three pairs of shalwar kameez [traditional dress]
for summer, and three pairs for winter,” the report said. “In addition
he had a black jacket and two sweaters.
“When asked about lack of security they said he trusted in Allah for protection.”
ABC News shows the interior bedroom in the mansion where Osama Bin Laden
Unofficial US accounts suggest bin Laden suffered from
Addison’s disease, a condition affecting the adrenal glands which causes
stomach pain and weakness.
According to his wives, the report
says, “he treated himself with traditional Arab medicine?... and when he
felt sluggish he would take chocolate with an apple.”
The family
could not pass time watching TV or surfing the web because bin Laden had
no internet, satellite or phones to avoid detection.
His children
and grandchildren were never allowed to play with those of his two
aides and were separated from them by a wall in the yard.
They spent the bulk of their lives within the compound’s walls where bin Laden taught them the Koran and gardening.
The report reveals: “The children of the OBL family led extremely regimented and secluded lives.
"OBL
personally saw to the religious education of his grandchildren and
supervised their play time, which included cultivating vegetable plots
with simple prizes for the best performances.”
His son Khalid, 23,
had a pet cow bought from a local man who was also hired to plough the
field in the compound. But Khalid saw to all the DIY, even fixing the
plumbing, to avoid having to call in workmen who might become
suspicious.
Every Friday morning bin Laden, his two aides and all the males, would pray together downstairs and spend time talking.
But
he never discussed religion with his wives, even though the elder two
were highly educated and had post-graduate degrees, Khairiyya, in Arabic
literature and Sharifa in Islamic Studies.
The female children were completely segregated from the men from the age of three.
But,
ironically, it was Rahma, daughter of the terrorist’s right-hand man
Ibrahim and his wife Maryam, who came closest to blowing his cover.
The nine-year-old was curious about why “the uncle who lives upstairs” never went to the bazaar.
Her
father pretended he was too poor to buy anything, and after that the
caring youngster referred to him as “Miskeen Kaka,” or “Poor Uncle” in
Urdu.
Rahma used to visit part of bin Laden’s home to take lessons
from one of his daughters – but one day came across “Poor Uncle” on the
staircase, and said hello.
“After that her interaction with the OBL family ended abruptly,” said the report.
But then, a few months before the raid, Rahma was watching the TV her father allowed his wife and children to watch.
An Al Jazeera news report carried a picture of bin Laden and bright Rahma recognised “Poor Uncle”.
Her father panicked and got rid of the TV. Mum Maryam became suspicious and demanded to know the real identity of The Sheikh.
The report says: “He told her it was none of her business but she complained he did not trust her and stopped talking to him.
“Ibrahim at last confessed to Maryam that their daughter was right. ‘Miskeen Kaka’ was none other than Osama bin Laden.
“Maryam
told Ibrahim she was not scared by the prospect of his martyrdom. But
she did fear his arrest and torture. She would rather he was martyred
than captured.”
On May 2, 2011 Ibrahim was killed alongside bin
Laden and his son Khalid, as well as his own brother Abrar and
sister-in-law Bushra.
