Updated on
Summary A senior US defence official has said that only one of the five people killed in the raid was armed.
The United States defence department’s official acknowledged that the new account differed greatly from the original administration portrayals of a chaotic, intense and prolonged firefight.The official said that the sole shooter in the Al Qaeda leaders compound was quickly killed in the early minutes of the commando operation, before the Navy SEALs assault team swept through the house and shot the others.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the details have become clearer now that the assault team had been debriefed.He said that the raid should have been described as a precision, floor-by-floor operation to hunt and find the Al Qaeda leader and his protectors, rather than as it has been portrayed by a succession of Obama administration briefers since Bin Ladens death was announced Sunday night.In another development, aviation experts said that one of the helicopter used in the assault appeared to be a stealthier, top secret and never-before-seen version of a routinely used special ops helicopter. The helicopter made a hard landing and was destroyed by the military team at the site, leaving behind wreckage for experts to analyze.
