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Osama Bin Laden compound being demolished in Pakistan Osama Bin Laden compound being demolished in Pakistan
(about 9 hours later)
Pakistan is demolishing the compound where US forces killed Osama Bin Laden, in the city of Abbottabad, residents and police say. Pakistan is more than half way through its demolition of the compound where US forces killed Osama Bin Laden, in the north-western city of Abbottabad.
The al-Qaeda leader was shot dead at the compound in the north-western city near the capital Islamabad in May 2011. Work began late on Saturday and bulldozers and pneumatic machinery could be heard through the night.
Bulldozers arrived after dark to demolish the outer walls, and have been working through the night. The al-Qaeda leader was shot dead at the compound in the garrison town on 2 May 2011. He had been hiding there for several years.
There is heavy security around the compound, which served as Bin Laden's hideout for more than five years. No official reason for the demolition has been given.
Residents say an unannounced curfew has been placed in the area, and residents have been asked not to leave their homes, the BBC's Ilyas Khan in Islamabad reports. Residents around the three-storey compound have speculated that the authorities do not want it turned into a shrine.
The site is a large compound with high walls built around the actual house. But it is more likely that the demolition is part of a process by the government to put the whole embarrassing episode behind them, says the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Abbottabad.
'Should be razed'
Journalists and residents were prevented from getting too close to the compound by a ring of several hundred police and soldiers as work got under way.
Bulldozers worked under floodlights to smash through the concrete structure, with trucks carrying away the debris.
By Sunday morning, the high walls of the compound and more than half of the building inside had been torn down, the Associated Press reports.
Officials say the compound was handed over by the military to the civil authorities before the operation started.Officials say the compound was handed over by the military to the civil authorities before the operation started.
They say the demolition was decided soon after the 2 May 2011 raid, but it was put off when the government set up a judicial commission to investigate the operation by US forces. They say the demolition was decided soon after the May raid, but it was put off when the government set up a judicial commission to investigate the operation by US forces.
"Since the commission has almost completed its work and did not need the compound for any further investigation, it was decided it should be razed," an official said."Since the commission has almost completed its work and did not need the compound for any further investigation, it was decided it should be razed," an official said.
He said the reason for the demolition was the visitors the place continued to attract, which posed a security threat to the area, located in an important garrison town.
Stealth operationStealth operation
Osama Bin Laden is said to have lived in the compound with his family for several years. Osama Bin Laden is said to have lived in the compound with his wives and children for several years - raising questions as to how he could have remained in the garrison town for so long without the Pakistani government knowing about it.
On that day, a team of US special forces flew from Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hiding place during the night in stealth helicopters on a secret operation. On 2 May, a team of US special forces flew from Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hiding place during the night in stealth helicopters in a secret operation not disclosed to Islamabad beforehand.
They swept through the buildings within the high-walled enclosure and shot dead a total of five people, including Bin Laden. The troops swept through the buildings within the high-walled enclosure and shot dead a total of five people, including Bin Laden.
Some 40 minutes later they left, taking with them Bin Laden's body and a hoard of computer data devices and other information containing intelligence about al-Qaeda and Bin Laden's activities.Some 40 minutes later they left, taking with them Bin Laden's body and a hoard of computer data devices and other information containing intelligence about al-Qaeda and Bin Laden's activities.
The compound has been a painful reminder for Pakistan, which was embarrassed by the unilateral US operation that killed Bin Laden, correspondents say.