The founder and spiritual figurehead for al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, is dead. Several officials confirmed the report to CBS News, and say that his body is currently in U.S. hands. President Barack Obama is expected to address the nation on the subject shortly. CBS News correspondent David Martin reports that bin Laden was killed by forces in Afghanistan. The long-lost terrorist mastermind had eluded an aggressive hunt by U.S. authorities for nearly ten years since the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001. Bin Laden’s death is a major accomplishment for Mr. Obama and his national security team, as the administrations of both presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush hunted the Saudi-born terrorist. Security at “strategic places in Pakistan has been beefed up as a precaution against any retaliation to news of Osama bin Laden’s death”, a senior Pakistani security official told CBS News early on Monday. “If he(bin Laden) is really dead, there will be attempts to seek revenge,” said the official who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity. Former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said on Twitter: “#BinLaden’s death does not eliminate the threat from #alQaeda, but it is hard to see anyone playing the same organizational role he did.” Via CBS News
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BREAKING NEWS: Osama bin Laden’s Death Confirmed, Body Is In Hands Of U.S.
