Osama bin Laden dead, Obama announces

Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the most devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man in the world, was killed in a firefight with United States forces in Pakistan on Sunday. He was shot in the head.

Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad by US forces, US President Barack Obama announced today.

In a historic moment, Obama described the war against Al Qaeda over the last 10 years since 9/11. He described events over the last few weeks when acting on specific intelligence, Obama said, he ordered that Osama's place of hiding in Pakistan be stormed and he be killed.

That happened, he said in a joint US forces operation on Sunday night.

Officials have long believed that bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world, was hiding in a mountainous region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

A small team of Americans carried out the attack and took custody of bin Laden's remains, the President said Sunday in the dramatic late-night statement at the White House.

Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist ever, was the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks on the US which left 3000 people dead

Crowds gather outside the White House in Washington early Monday, May 2, 2011, to celebrate after President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden. (AP Photo/Charles Dhara)

President Obama said that it was a historic day for the US and the world.

People are seen celebrating as the news breaks out in front of the White House. (Photo: AP)

People are seen celebrating as the news breaks out in front of the White House.

The gunfight took place at Osama's mansion hideout in Abbottabad which is an hour away from Islamabad

President Barack Obama speaks: “The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat Al Qaeda”

A man celebrates the killing of the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre. (Photo: AFP)

People rejoice at the death of the terrorist responsible for the worst attack in the history of America. (Photo: AP)

In this 1998 file photo, Ayman al-Zawahri, left, poses for a photograph with Osama bin Laden, right, taken in Khost, Afghanistan and made available Friday March 19, 2004. (AP Photo/Mazhar Ali Khan, File)