How Osama bin Laden Got Killed

Shear English - Osama bin Laden was killed in a helicopter raid on a mansion in an area north of the Pakistani capital, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Monday.

Four helicopters launched the attack in the Bilal area of Abbottabad, about 100 kilometers north of Islamabad, said a Pakistani intelligence official. One of the helicopters crashed after it apparently was hit by fire from the ground, the official said. He gave no word on casualties.

He said the helicopters took off from a Pakistani air base in the north of the country. Women and children were taken into custody during the raid, he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the raid was on a mansion close to Islamabad. Announcing the operation in a televised statement in Washington, President Barack Obama said the operation took place Sunday.

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Obama: Osama bin Laden Killed by U.S. Forces

Shear English - Osama Bin Laden has been killed by the U.S. military after a decade-long hunt to avenge the 9/11 attacks. The leader of Al Qaeda was killed in a gun battle with some members of his family in an attack on a mansion outside Islamabad in Pakistan. The U.S. military has recovered the body and intelligence sources have confirmed his identity. Within minutes of the news breaking Americans began gathering outside the White House to wave American flags, sing the national anthem and chant: ‘USA! USA!’

Sources said that Bin Laden was not killed by a drone but by ground forces attacking a home in Islamabad. President Obama said that the attack had been in the planning for months but that he gave the authorisation for the action today. Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed the killing and said it was the result of a ‘highly sensitive intelligence operation’ involving themselves and the U.S.

Bin Laden has been sought by America since 2001, when he masterminded the September 11 attacks that left 2,700 dead and led to the invasion of Afghanistan as America sought to track him down. The dramatic development will be a major victory for Barack Obama who made a statement to the nation to outline more details. Relatives of those who died on 9/11 immediately welcomed the killing. Carie Lamack, who lost her mother Judy on American Airlines flights 11 on 9/11, said: ‘I cannot express how this feels to my family. Relief is one word.’

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Indonesia Receives Two Warships from Brunei ("KRI Salawaku 642" and "KRI Badau 643")

Shear English - Indonesia has received two warships, "KRI Salawaku 642" and "KRI Badau 643" from Brunei Darussalam under a grant, which will join the West Fleet Command (ARMABAR). Brunei government officially handed over the two warships on April 15, 2011, (Navy) Maj Komaruddin, the commander of KRI Badau said here on Monday.

Both ships were originally called "KDB (Kapal Perang Diraja Brunei) Waspada" and "KDB Pejuang" as part of the Royal Brunei Navy fleet, he said. In accordance with Decree of the Defense Forces (Military)Commander, "KDB Waspada" is now called "KRI Salawaku" with hull number 642 and "KDB Pejuang" is now "KRI Badau" with hull number 643.

"The two ships are part of the rapid ship missile (KCR)," Maj Komaruddin said, adding that the ships were designed in England and constructed in its plant in Singapore each with a cruising capacity of 28 knots.

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Indonesia Cancels : As Indonesian Elite Force Apparoaches Somalia

Shear English - Indonesia has dispatched an elite military force to Somalia to rescue 20 Indonesian sailors who were hijacked by Somalian pirates together with their ship a month ago. Despite a media blitz in Jakarta, the Indonesian government had actually to cancel the hard option as the Kopassus and the Korp Marinir units were en route to the site where MV Sinar Kudus was held by Somali pirates.

The force dispatched numbers to 401 personnel consisting of a combined unit of Kopassus and Korps Marinir (Marine Corps). The media had apparently been taken by surprise by what had been disclosed by Air Marshall (Rtd.) Djoko Suyanto, the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security. 

This story has not been made public by the government until Friday. There are two considerations that may have become the underlying reasons for Djoko Suyanto, former Indonesian Defense Force (TNI) Commander, to open the fact to public through media.

First, public opinion has cornered the government in the people’s eyes as being weak and slow-moving. Second, the 3.5 million US dollars ransom money has actually been in the process of delivery to the pirates as the condition for the release of the sailors.

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Gadhafi Implored Obama to Stop the NATO-Led Air Campaign

Shear English - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi appealed directly to President Barack Obama on Wednesday to halt what the Libyan leader called "an unjust war" and wished Obama good luck in his bid for re-election next year. In a rambling, three-page letter to Obama, Gaddafi implored Obama to stop the NATO-led air campaign, which he called an "unjust war against a small people of a developing country".

"You are a man who has enough courage to annul a wrong and mistaken action," Gaddafi wrote in the letter that was sent to the State Department and forwarded immediately to the White House, according to a US official who had seen the letter.

"I am sure that you are able to shoulder the responsibility for that. "To serving world peace ... Friendship between our peoples ... and for the sake of economic, and security cooperation against terror, you are in a position to keep NATO off the Libyan affair for good," Gaddafi wrote.

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"Want to Move Toward Change for the Country", Sons Plan to Oust Gaddafi

Shear English - At least two sons of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are proposing a transition to a constitutional democracy that would include their father's removal from power, The New York Times reports. Citing an unnamed diplomat and a Libyan official briefed on the plan, the newspaper said the transition would be spearheaded by one of Gaddafi's sons, Seif al-Islam el-Gaddafi. It is not clear whether Colonel Gaddafi, 68, has signed on to the reported proposal backed by his sons, Seif and Saadi el-Gaddafi, the report said.

But one person close to the sons said the father appeared willing to go along, the paper noted. The two sons "want to move toward change for the country" without their father, The Times quoted one person close to the Seif and Saadi camp as saying. "They have hit so many brick walls with the old guard, and if they have the go-ahead, they will bring the country up quickly."

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Britain Sold Weapons to Libya and Other Dictatorships in North Africa and the Middle East

Shear English - Britain sold weapons to Libya and other dictatorships in North Africa and the Middle East just four months before Colonel Gaddafi’s regime slaughtered hundreds of protesters, a damning report reveals today. Ministers approved the export of sniper rifles, bullets, tear gas and other ‘crowd control’ ammunition to Tripoli shortly before the murderous dictator ordered his military to crush a pro-democracy uprising.

The highly critical report by MPs laid bare the ‘dirty secret’ of Britain selling arms to some of the world’s most brutal regimes. Successive British governments have ‘misjudged the risk’, the Commons’ Committee on Arms Export Controls said. The report follows mounting fears Gaddafi used UK-made arms against the rebel uprising in Libya. More than 1,000 Libyan citizens have been killed since his violent crackdown was launched. Official figures show that since 2009, Britain approved export licences worth £2.3billion to 16 states over a 21-month period.

Military export licenses to Libya alone since the start of 2009 totalled £61.3million, according to Department for Business figures. The UK also awarded Bahrain £6million of licences covering submachine guns, sniper rifles, CS hand grenades, smoke canisters, stun grenades and riot control agents. At least 26 citizens have been killed and 1,000 injured as the Gulf state cracked down on freedom campaigners. Britain also approved arms licenses totalling £1.7billion to Saudi Arabia, £20.4million to Egypt, £276.9million to Algeria and £52.8million to the United Arab Emirates.

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