Thaindian News

Islamabad, May 2(ANI): After the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a secret US operation in Pakistan, the Pakistan government on Monday said it had played a “significant role” in counter-terrorism efforts.

“We have had extremely effective intelligence sharing arrangements with several intelligence agencies including that of the US. We will continue to support international efforts against terrorism,” The Dawn quoted a Foreign Ministry statement, as saying.

However, US officials have said it would be hard for the Pakistani government to explain how Laden could have been living in a high-profile residence “without their knowing”.

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 city, located 50 kilometres northeast of Islamabad and 150 kilometres east of Peshawar.

Laden’s home was in an affluent area, where many retired military officers also lived and was just 100 yards away from a Pakistani military academy.

Another official revealed that American agents were “shocked by what we saw” at the compound, calling it an “extraordinary” complex many times larger than the other homes in the neighborhood, surrounded by an eight-foot high, barbed wire-topped wall.

The lavish home had a terrace on the third floor, surrounded by its own seven-foot high privacy wall.

There were secondary perimeter walls inside the compound, with two security gates, the official added. (ANI)