Osama bin Laden's secret compound is demolished in Pakistan

The three-storey compound where Osama bin Laden spent his last years and was killed by U.S commandos is being demolished.

Pakistani
authorities ordered bulldozers to move in under the cover of dark on
Saturday in a bid to eliminate the concrete reminder of the painful and
embarrassing chapter in the country's history.

Pakistan was outraged by the covert American raid because it was not informed about it beforehand.

The country's powerful military faced
rare domestic criticism because it was not able to stop U.S. troops
from infiltrating the country by helicopter via Afghanistan.
The compound was located next to Pakistan's equivalent of West Point.
Three mechanized backhoes began their
demolition of the compound in the northwest city of Abbottabad after
sunset on Saturday, said two local residents, speaking on condition of
anonymity because they were afraid of being harassed by the government.

Authorities set up floodlights so they could work after dark, said the residents.
The demolition team conducted its
work under heavy security. A large team of police set up an outer cordon
around the compound to keep spectators away, said an Associated Press
reporter who managed to get close enough to see the demolition work
under way.

A ring of army soldiers set up an inner cordon and warmed themselves against the winter chill by lighting a bonfire.

The
backhoes broke through tall outer boundary walls that ringed a
courtyard where one of the U.S. helicopters crashed during the operation
to kill the al-Qaida chief, said the AP reporter.

They then began to tear down the compound itself.

A
Pakistani intelligence official confirmed that the demolition was in
progress but declined to say why the government chose to do it.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Source