Blog l The 'hidden life' of Bin Laden

Osama bin Laden managed to hide in Pakistan for nine years due to "collective failure" of the military intelligence authorities of the Pakistani state. This is the main conclusion reached by the report commissioned by the government on the death of the former leader of Al Qaeda. The report, obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera news network, also described as incompetence at all levels of civil government structure allowed the world's most wanted man in the country to move freely and change of residence up to six times. The report of the Abbottabad Commission, formed in June 2011 to investigate the circumstances of the death of Bin Laden at the hands of U.S. forces, is based on testimony from over 200 witnesses, including family members of bin Laden, the then head of intelligence, some Pakistani ministers and officials of all levels of the armed forces and security services. The report, of 336 pages, the Commission is scathing, arguing that the government and the military were responsible for "collective failure" that allowed Bin Laden to escape so many times, and thatthe United States commit "an act of war". In addition, through the testimony of several family members of bin Laden, officials from the intelligence services and the wife of one of his messengers, the Commission has been able to reconstruct a very detailed picture of the life of Bin Laden, even details about the isolated life he and his family took in Abbottabad and elsewhere. The report concludes that bin Laden went to Pakistan in mid-2002, after narrowly escaping a capture operation in the battle of Tora Bora in Afghanistan in December 2001. Intelligence officials say they stayed briefly in South Waziristan and Bajaur tribal areas of Pakistan, before moving north of the Swat Valley to stay with his guards, Ibrahim and Abrar al-Kuwaiti, for several months.

In 2003, in Swat, Bin Laden reportedly met with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed , the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks against the United States. A month later, Mohammed was captured in Rawalpindi in a joint operation estaodunidenses and Pakistani forces, and Bin Laden fled Swat. Bin Laden appeared later in the city of Haripur, in northern Pakistan, where he remained for two years in a rented house with two of his wives and several of his children and grandchildren. In August 2005, all went to a tailor complex in Abbottabad, a town about 85 kilometers from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. He remained there for six years, until he was killed in May 2011.

The years in Haripur

During his time in the Swat Valley, Bin Laden lived with his wife Amal, who was pregnant, one of his bodyguards, Abrar al-Kuwaiti and Maryam, a Pakistani woman with whom Abrar married. While these activities outside the home were described as limited, Maryam testified that, on one occasion, when they went to visit a nearby bazaar drive with Bin Laden inside, was stopped for speeding by a traffic cop . Ibrahim, however, "quickly settled the matter", the report said, and the world's most wanted man, went on his way.

Following the arrest of the brain of 11-S, Bin Laden fled to Haripur, about 35 kilometers south of Abbottabad. There he lived in a house where his wife several plants Amal gave birth to several of their offspring in public clinics in never spent even one night.

During that time the men did not use mobile phones. To call, traveled to Peshawar, 150 km away, or Rawalpindi, about 65 km, to make phone calls from public offices.

'Waziristan House'

In August 2005, finally all moved to the Abbottabad compound. The two bodyguards of Osama were first intalarse and later became Osama with his family. Thanks to an earthquake that took place in the area in October of that year, bin Laden was able to build a building adjacent to the house, in addition to surround with walls of great height without raising suspicion. For locals, the house became known as 'Waziristan House', or, for others, it simply 'The Big House'. Bin Laden's life took place in the strictest privacy . Abrar and Ibrahim were in charge of buying supplies, while one of the sons of the terrorist, Khaid, took care of all the house needed reforms.Ibrahim and Abrar were the only people leaving the complex regularly and interacting with the community. They came regularly to the local mosque to pray and, according to several neighbors, "his conduct was polite and friendly." The austerity and discretion marked the day. According to one of the women of Bin Laden, the former leader of Al Qaeda just traveled to Abbottabad with a summer suit, three for the winter, a black jacket and two sweaters. He also had a hat Cowboy or he wore whenever he went for a walk in the garden so that satellites could not detect. He suffered various diseases, especially kidney and heart. Despite this, the report of the commission, never visited a doctor and rarely left the room.

The day to day

The sons, their wives and grandchildren also lived completely isolated. He was responsible for the religious education of children as well as their play time usually devoted to the care of a garden. Like their women who had forbidden even watch television.

In contrast, the families of his bodyguards had a bit more freedom, but also had to keep the rules of the terrorist. In fact, on one occasion a daughter of one of his bodyguards was crossed with bin Laden and greeted him. The next day, Osama drove him home to her and her mother from the main house.

According to their testimony, they did not discover who lived until a day watching television came an image of the "man who lived in the upstairs" and immediately knew that was the man she had lived so many years was the world's most wanted.

The night took place the Geronimo operation that ended years of searching, the wives and daughters heard a loud bang and thought it was a storm. However, were the Black Hawk helicopters SEALS USA. Then they heard the soldiers were identified. One woman heard a gunshot and saw Osama fell to the ground with a gunshot to the head and covered with blood.