Osama wasn't shot dead, but blew himself up to avoid capture by US forces: Report

Lahore, May 8(ANI): Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was not shot dead by US Special Forces (SEALs) in 'Operation Geronimo', but blew himself up to avoid capture soon after they launched the raid at his Abbotabad compound on May 2, according to a report.

The Saudi-born terrorist, who had evaded capture for a decade, was killed in a top secret operation involving a small team of US Special Forces in Abbottabad, located 50 kilometres northeast ofIslamabad and 150 kilometres east of Peshawar.

It is learnt that Bin Laden's body parts were cut into multiple pieces- as happens in suicide attacks following the bombing- leaving no option for the US forces to simply identify him, The Nation reports.

A senior Afghan intelligence official said on the condition of anonymity that the Americans had planned to nab him alive.

"But they miscalculated. Osama blew himself up to avoid capture," he said confidently, but declined to give further details. According to him, he had frequent contacts with the US Special Forces involved in the covert operation even before the raid.

"The Americans had to conduct his DNA test that helped them establish his identity. So this is why US President [Barack] Obama straightforwardly blocked the publication of his photos, saying "they might act as incitement to additional violence. He (Bin Laden) left himself unrecognisable, and this is why the photos are too horrible to be published," believe counter-terrorism experts.

The US claim that their forces shot Bin Laden dead is totally false, the sources said, adding that in case of gunshot killing, the dead was left identifiable, no matter how many times he was shot.

The Americans claim they shot Bin Laden in the head and chest, so why they did not show his body parts, questioned counter-terror experts.

They said that Bin Laden was the man who had introduced the suicide-bombing phenomenon inPakistan by directing the first-ever suicide attack on the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad in 1995.

"It was an Egyptian dissident who had rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the Embassy," the experts emphasised, adding that only the Sri Lankan Tamils had shown this trend to the region before.

"Osama made a mix of his vision in Arab bravery and Tamil precision. He had begun recruitment from across the globe and he had ordered execution of hundreds of suicide attacks in Pakistan" they said.

"So in the end, he blew himself up also. That's why the Americans have nothing in hand to show or to prove that they shot him dead. A suicide bomber explodes into pieces and only the DNA can identify him," experts added.

That the authorities kept the compound close for several days before opening it to the media, also raises questions about the authenticity and credibility of the US operation. (ANI)