The operation, according to senior officials who briefed reporters early Monday morning, hinged almost entirely on the hunt for a single man: a courier operating out of Pakistan who had been trusted by bin Laden for years.
Using information from detainees in U.S. custody, U.S. analysts and operatives spent years figuring out the courier’s identity, concluding that he was a former protege of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-declared mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks who is being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The courier “in particular had our constant attention,” the official said.
Detainees “identified this man as one of the few al-Qaeda couriers trusted by bin Laden, indicated he might be living with or protecting bin Laden,” the official said. But for years, the United States was unable to track him down or uncover his real name, which did not happen until four years ago. Two years ago, U.S. officials narrowed down the region in Pakistan where the courier was working, senior administration officials said.
Then, in August, U.S. officials found the compound that turned out to be bin Laden’s hiding spot. It was described as an extraordinary place, custom-made for him, with 12- to 18-foot security walls, multiple interior walls dividing the property and massive privacy walls blocking even a third-story balcony. Despite being valued at $1 million, the property had no Internet or phone service, the official said.
“When we saw the compound . . . we were shocked by what we saw,” the official told reporters, describing it as “an extraordinarily unique compound,” built perhaps in 2005 and expressly for bin Laden. “Everything we saw . . . was perfectly consistent with what our experts expected bin Laden’s hideout to look like.”