Bin Laden's widow 'may soon return to Yemen' (AFP)

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – The youngest widow of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden could return home to Yemen from Pakistan within days, a Pakistani security official confirmed to AFP on Friday.

"Eventually everyone will go back, but I'm not sure about the time frame. It could be a day, two days, may be more," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.

"But the first one is probably the Yemeni wife," the official added.

Pakistan took custody of Amal Abdulfattah and two Saudi widows as well as bin Laden's children after US Navy SEALs found and killed the Al-Qaeda terror chief at a home in the military town of Abbottabad on May 2.

From the outset, the Pakistani government said that the relatives would be handed over to their countries of origin.

On Wednesday, Abdulfattah's brother, Zakariya, told AFP that the family in Yemen had been told by Sanaa and Islamabad that she and her five children would be returning home in the coming days.

"There have been diplomatic arrangements between the Yemeni and the Pakistani parties to secure her return to her country and we have received promises that it will take place soon," he said.

Her brother had said that he has received assurances from the Yemeni ambassador in Islamabad that she is "in good health" despite sustaining a gunshot wound to the leg during the US commando raid that killed bin Laden.

US intelligence services have interrogated bin Laden's widows.

Twenty-nine-year-old Amal married bin Laden in 1999 through a local matchmaker, the brother said, and then travelled to Afghanistan to join him.

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Phone gives clues to bin Laden's Pakistan links: report (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A cell phone found in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan contained contacts to a militant group with ties to Pakistan's intelligence agency, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing senior U.S. officials briefed on the findings.

The discovery indicated that bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside Pakistan, the newspaper said, citing the officials and others sources it did not identify.

The cell phone belonged to bin Laden's courier, who was killed along with the al Qaeda leader in the May 2 raid by U.S. special forces on bin Laden's compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, the Times said.

"We cannot confirm this account," a U.S. official in Washington said when asked about the report.

The United States kept Islamabad in the dark about the raid by Navy SEALs until after it was completed, humiliating Pakistan's armed forces and putting U.S. military and intelligence ties under serious strain.

In tracing calls on the cell phone, U.S. analysts determined that Harakat commanders had called Pakistani intelligence officials, the Times reported, citing the senior American officials.

The officials added the contacts were not necessarily about bin Laden and his protection and that there was no "smoking gun" showing that Pakistan's spy agency had protected bin Laden, the newspaper said.

The newspaper quoted one of the officials as saying the cell phone analysis was a "serious lead" in the hunt for answers about how bin Laden managed to evade notice by Pakistan's spy agency or military for years in the town, only 30 miles from the capital.

The newspaper quoted analysts familiar with Harakat as saying it had deep roots in the area around Abbottabad. Its leaders have strong ties with both al Qaeda and Pakistani intelligence, the Times said.

(Writing by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Bin Laden's No. 2: Muslims will destroy America (AP)

CAIRO – Osama bin Laden's deputy warned Wednesday that America faces not individual terrorists or groups but an international community of Muslims that seek to destroy it and its allies. He was delivering a 28-minute videotaped eulogy to slain al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida's longtime No. 2 and considered the network's operational head, also sought to cast a role for the terror group in the popular uprisings shaking Arab world.

"Today, praise God, America is not facing an individual, a group or a faction," he said, wearing a white robe and turban with an assault rifle leaned on a wall behind him. "It is facing a nation than is in revolt, having risen from its lethargy to a renaissance of jihad."

Al-Zawahri also heaped praise on bin Laden, who was killed in the May 2 raid by U.S. Navy SEALs in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad. Al-Zawahri, who is believed to be operating from somewhere near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, also criticized the U.S. for burying bin Laden at sea.

"He went to his God as a martyr, the man who terrified American while alive and terrifies it in death, so much so that they trembled at the idea of his having tomb" he said.

Al-Zawahri — who referenced the toppling of rulers in Tunisia and Egypt and continued uprisings in Libya, Yemen and Syria — tried to cast recent developments as in line with his group's longtime goal: to destroy America and its allies. He said America now faces the international Muslim community.

"Our brothers who are working in Islam in all places, I tell you that our hands are extended to you and our hearts are open to you, so that we can work together to make Allah's word the highest and to make Islamic law in Muslim lands the ruler, not the ruled," he said in a video released on militant websites.

Al-Qaida has long sought to topple many of the Arab leaders whose regimes have been shaken or toppled by popular uprisings this year, though militant Islam has played next to no role in any of them and most activists say they seek civil, not religious rule.

Within days of the bin Laden raid, al-Qaida had issued a statement vowing to keep fighting the United States, a message that was likely designed to convince followers that the organization would remain vigorous and intact even after its founder's demise.

But al-Zawahri's eulogy was the first comment by one of his potential successors on bin Laden's killing.

He also said U.S. officials withheld the release of photographs of bin Laden's body, fearing the "Islamic peoples' anger and hate" for America. He claimed bin Laden "achieved what he wanted to do, which is to incite the Islamic nation to holy war, and his message had reached all."

Al-Zawahri, who is Egyptian, is a less charismatic figure believed to lack bin Laden's ability to bring together the many nationalities and ethnic groups that make up al-Qaida. His appointment as the next al-Qaida leader could further fracture an organization that is thought to be increasingly decentralized.

The eulogy included five poems of praise for bin Laden, describing him alternately as modest, noble and shrewd commander and "the vanguard of jihad against the communists and then the Crusaders," a reference to bin Laden's campaign in the Afghan war against the Soviets in the 1980s and the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks against the United States.

Al-Zawahri also vented his anger at Pakistani military leaders and politicians, implying they had a role in bin Laden's death.

"I call on the Pakistani nation to rise up against the mercenary military traitors and the corrupt politicians who turned Pakistan into an American colony, allowing it (America) to kill or capture whoever it wants," al-Zawahri said.

He concluded by saying bin Laden will remain a "source of horror and a nightmare chasing America, Israel and their allies."

___

Additional reporting from Associated Press writer Maamoun Youssef.

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Bin Laden's death ushers in whirlwind week as clues emerge

(CNN) -- The curtain is just beginning to rise on the scope and power of the world's most-wanted terrorist one week after U.S. Navy SEALs killed him during a daring nighttime raid.

New details have been released almost daily since a team of American commandos stormed bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Islamabad, killing him and four others.

For Americans, and much of the world, news of the killings brought a sense of relief, even satisfaction.

The pain, the frustration, the sadness elicited by the 9/11 attacks have never really left. How could they? For much of the past decade, Americans processed the world through the lens of the worst terrorist attacks ever committed on U.S. soil.

Since that attack, citizens of the United States, Britain, Spain and other countries had grown startlingly accustomed to terror strikes and near-misses. Adding to the pain was the ever-growing laundry list of indignities, the "fog of war," and the clarity to know that personal freedoms were eroding in agonizingly public ways.

Then it happened. Bin Laden was killed.

In announcing bin Laden's death, Obama called it "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda."

"A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties," he said.

Nearly 10 years and 7,000 miles from New York City, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon, a team of U.S. Navy SEALs raided a complex in Abbottabad, shooting bin Laden and depositing his body into the sea.

The iconic image of the event? A White House photo of Obama and his aides monitoring via live video the capture of bin Laden.

It was personal

For Johnny Spann, father of the first U.S. victim in the Afghan war, the news was sweet.

"If you ask me if I am proud that he's dead, yes," Spann told CNN, in Winfield, a town in northwestern Alabama. "Am I glad he's dead? Yes. The guy was a monster. He was a killer."

Spann's son, Johnny Michael Spann, was a paramilitary officer for the CIA when he was killed during a riot among Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners on November 25, 2001.

For the nation's youth -- many of whom grew up with color-coded terror alerts and long lines at airport metal detectors -- bin Laden, their bogeyman, was finally gone.

How it happened was breathtaking -- redemption for a CIA dogged for years over real or perceived intelligence failures, some shine for the armed forces whose daily bravery rarely makes headlines and the signature moment of Barack Obama's presidency so far.

Yes, it was personal. Finally there was a solitary act that could boost our collective morale, even restore some sense of redemption. You can even call it revenge. Whatever. The swagger, just for a single, solitary moment, was back.

"We are ultimately going to defeat al Qaeda," the president told more than 2,300 troops who recently returned from Afghanistan. "We have cut off their head."

Head of the hydra has been cut off, what about the body?

A statement from al Qaeda on Friday acknowledging the death of bin Laden included renewed warnings of attacks against U.S. interests and suggested that a process to choose a successor was under way.

"Sheikh Osama didn't build an organization to die when he dies," the message said. It was posted on several jihadist forums known for carrying al Qaeda statements.

The Taliban quickly followed with a statement of its own on bin Laden's death, promising a fight for the U.S.

"Will the Americans be able -- through their media outlets, their agents, their instruments, soldiers, intelligence services and their might -- be able to kill what Sheikh Osama lived for and was killed for? How far! How impossible!" the statement said.

But support for radical Islam, after 10 years of infighting since 9/11, may have reached a tipping point.

The Muslim world was initially suspicious of U.S. intentions immediately following 9/11, with some even seeing bin Laden as a scapegoat.

"When 9/11 first happened, people in the Muslim world weren't entirely sure it was bin Laden who was behind it," said Juan Cole, a professor of modern Middle East history at the University of Michigan.

But as al Qaeda established affiliates throughout the Muslim world -- leading to deadly attacks that claimed Muslim lives in countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Morocco -- Muslim support waned.

"Terrorism went from being seen as something that happened 'over there' to something that affected Muslims themselves," said Cole.

Who will be the new public enemy?

The man to lead al Qaeda most likely will be Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian who was bin Laden's No. 2 in command. But Adam Gadahn, a U.S.-born spokesman for al Qaeda, may also have his hat in the ring. Like al-Zawahiri, Gadahn is on the FBI's most-wanted list.

The bylaws of al Qaeda, recovered by the U.S. military in Afghanistan after 9/11, set out clear guidelines on the replacement of bin Laden, requiring the Command, or Shura, Council of al Qaeda to "pledge allegiance to the deputy emir and elect him as emir in the event that the emir dies or is captured and there is no hope for his liberation."

The United States figures to have an edge on al-Zawahiri's whereabouts after the seizure by Navy SEALs of multiple thumb drives, storage devices and hard drives full of data from bin Laden's Abbottabad compound.

But al-Zawahiri is no bin Laden.

Whereas bin Laden's charisma inspired a generation of recruits, al-Zawahiri is a self-styled intellectual whose long-winded video and audio tapes must be tedious to even the most committed of al Qaeda members and whose arrogance has alienated many in al Qaeda ranks over the years. How bad must you be to irritate your fellow terrorists?

Also of concern to U.S. officials is al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula, an arm of the umbrella terrorist organization that emerged in the years after 9/11.

From its bases in Yemen, AQAP has carried out some of the most audacious attempted terrorist attacks against the West, most notably Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day in 2009.

Although attacks by the Yemeni branch have failed, the group has come closer than other affiliates such as those in Iraq or in North Africa.

U.S. officials are working swiftly to dissect and act upon key information gleaned from the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.

Intelligence officials on Saturday unveiled five videos of bin Laden that were confiscated from the Pakistan raid.

The videos, including one which shows the terrorist leader channel-surfing in front of a television, reveal a graying figure that effectively ran the world's terror organization like a home-based business.

With bin Laden gone, should Americans sleep more soundly?

The collective American psyche breathed a sigh of relief with the news of bin Laden's death. It made sense that the moment be one of celebration, said Columbia University psychiatrist Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman.

The country has been experiencing emotional malaise, with a slow-moving economy and a decade of angst about the threat of terrorism.

Then in an instant, a late Sunday night announcement lifted that burden of pain and helplessness.

"In the blink of an eye, the gloom and doom and pessimism has dissipated," Lieberman said.

As with every free society, there was healthy debate about the way one should respond to the news of bin Laden's death. While many shouted in jubilation at the demise of a terrorist mastermind, others were appalled by what they perceived as a simplistic, even primal, reaction to mortality.

Josh Pesavento, 22, a journalism student in New York who photographed the cheering crowds in Times Square, said he felt conflicted about the celebrations he witnessed.

"I don't believe that any person has the right to kill anyone, and I don't think that we should be cheering for yet more loss of life. However, I tell myself that in this situation, these people may be cheering for the end of an icon who led to the death of far, far too many," Pesavento said.

Danielle Tumminio, an Episcopal priest, said she fought back tears as she digested the news that bin Laden had been killed.

"My first reaction was, 'I wish I was with them,' " Tumminio said of the scenes of revelers she saw on the news. "My second reaction was, 'This is disgusting. We shouldn't be celebrating the death of anybody.' It felt gross."

For others, those closer to the events of 9/11, there was a sense of personal gratification.

Michael Tuohey, an airport worker who checked in one of the 9/11 hijackers, said when he turned on his television and saw Obama announcing that bin Laden's death, "I got a little choked up, because just knowing, you can't help but reflect back," he told CNN.

More debate centered on whether the White House should release photos of bin Laden's body. Many thought death photos of bin Laden were the only way to confirm the most die-hard skeptics. Critics countered that the Obama administration would lose its moral ground.

In the days and weeks ahead, there will be more revelations -- and the release of intermittent details -- as U.S. officials continue to pore over materials taken from bin Laden's compound.

While there is no evidence Pakistani authorities knew bin Laden was living in the same town as one of its top military academies, U.S. officials are keenly aware that the terrorist leader must have had help remaining undetected in in a mansion complex for six years.

National security adviser Tom Donilon told CNN in comments aired Sunday, "We'll clearly be working with (Pakistani authorities) to understand how we got to this point," he said.

The world will want to know.

CNN

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Pakistan paints dismal image of bin Laden's end

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's military paints a far different picture than the United States of Osama bin Laden's final days: not the terror mastermind still trying to strike America, but an aging terrorist hiding in barren rooms, short of money and struggling to maintain his grip on al-Qaida.

Supporters of the Pakistani religious party Jamaat-e-Islami rally to condemn the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Friday.

Three of bin Laden's wives were living with him in the compound and are being interrogated by Pakistani authorities, who took them into custody after Monday's raid, along with 13 children, eight of them bin Laden's.

Their accounts could help shed light on the U.S. military operation that killed the al-Qaida leader and reveal how he was able to avoid capture for nearly 10 years.

One of the wives, identified as Yemeni-born Amal Ahmed Abdullfattah, told interrogators she had been staying in bin Laden's hideout since 2006 and never left the upper floors of the large but sparsely furnished building, said a Pakistani intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with the agency's policy.

The official did not indicate whether bin Laden was with her the whole time, a period in which the Pakistani military says the al-Qaida chief's influence and financial status eroded.

Disputes over money between bin Laden and his No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, led the group to split into two factions five or six years ago, with the larger faction controlled by al-Zawahri, according to two senior Pakistani military officials. Bin Laden was "cash strapped" in his final days, they said.

The officers spoke to a small group of Pakistani reporters late Thursday, and their comments were confirmed for The Associated Press by another top military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issues. The officer didn't provide details or say how his agency knew about bin Laden's financial situation or the split with his deputy.

The image coming out of Washington based on information seized from bin Laden's compound was far different. The confiscated materials revealed al-Qaida plans for derailing an American train on the upcoming 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. counterterrorism officials say.

They believe the plot, which seemed to be formulated in February 2010, was only in the initial planning stages, and there was no recent intelligence about any active plan for such an attack. The FBI and Homeland Security issued an intelligence bulletin with details of the plan to law enforcement around the country. The bulletin, marked "for official use only," was obtained by the AP.

Already tense military and intelligence relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have been further strained by the raid that killed bin Laden.

Both countries have an interest in their version of bin Laden's hidden life.

A weak bin Laden would make Pakistan's failure to unearth his hiding place in Abbottabad, a military town just two-and-a-half hours' drive from the capital, seem less of a glaring embarrassment, while a menacing bin Laden would make the U.S. Navy SEAL raid that killed him a greater triumph.

The proximity of the al-Qaida chief's hideout to an elite military academy and the Pakistani capital has raised suspicions in Washington that bin Laden may have been protected by Pakistani security forces while on the run.

Pakistani officials have denied sheltering him and have criticized the U.S. operation as a violation of their country's sovereignty. Pakistan's army, a key U.S. ally in the Afghan war, threatened on Thursday to review cooperation with Washington if it stages any more attacks like the one that killed bin Laden. The army is considered the strongest institution in Pakistan, but its reputation has taken a beating in the wake of the raid.

Risking more tensions, a U.S. drone strike on Friday killed 15 people, including foreign militants, in North Waziristan, an al-Qaida and Taliban sanctuary close to Afghanistan, said Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Such attacks were routine last year, but their frequency has dropped this year amid opposition by the Pakistani security establishment and people on the street.

Hundreds of members of radical Islamic parties protested in several Pakistani cities Friday against the U.S. raid that killed bin Laden.

"America is celebrating Osama bin Laden's killing, but it will be a temporary celebration," said Abdullah Sittar Chishti, a member of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party who attended a rally in Khuchlak, a town in southwestern Baluchistan province.

"After the martyrdom of Osama, billions, trillions of Osamas will be born," Chishti said.

Some of the protesters expressed doubt that bin Laden was actually killed since the U.S. has refused to release pictures of his body.

Al-Qaida confirmed bin Laden's death in an Internet statement Friday and warned that it would seek revenge by attacking the United States. And the Afghan Taliban issued a statement saying the al-Qaida leader's death would boost morale among insurgents battling the U.S. and NATO in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden and his associates did not offer significant resistance when the American commandos entered the compound, in part because "stun bombs" thrown by the U.S. forces had disoriented them, two Pakistani officials said late Thursday, citing accounts by bin Laden's wives and children.

Pakistani authorities found an AK-47 and a pistol in the house, with evidence that one bullet had been fired from the rifle, said one of the officials.

"That was the level of resistance" they put up, he said.

His account is roughly consistent with the most recent one given by U.S. officials, who now say only one of the five people killed in the raid was armed and fired any shots, a striking departure from the intense and prolonged firefight described earlier by the White House and others in the administration.

U.S. officials say three men and a woman were killed alongside bin Laden, including one of his sons.

Bin Laden's wife, Abdullfattah, was shot in the leg and did not witness her husband being killed, a Pakistani military official said. One of the al-Qaida leader's daughters did see the Americans kill her father, he said.

CIA officers have not been given access to the women or children in custody, the official said.

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Pakistan paints dismal image of bin Laden's end

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's military paints a far different picture than the United States of Osama bin Laden's final days: not the terror mastermind still trying to strike America, but an aging terrorist hiding in barren rooms, short of money and struggling to maintain his grip on al-Qaida.

Supporters of the Pakistani religious party Jamaat-e-Islami rally to condemn the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Friday.

Three of bin Laden's wives were living with him in the compound and are being interrogated by Pakistani authorities, who took them into custody after Monday's raid, along with 13 children, eight of them bin Laden's.

Their accounts could help shed light on the U.S. military operation that killed the al-Qaida leader and reveal how he was able to avoid capture for nearly 10 years.

One of the wives, identified as Yemeni-born Amal Ahmed Abdullfattah, told interrogators she had been staying in bin Laden's hideout since 2006 and never left the upper floors of the large but sparsely furnished building, said a Pakistani intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with the agency's policy.

The official did not indicate whether bin Laden was with her the whole time, a period in which the Pakistani military says the al-Qaida chief's influence and financial status eroded.

Disputes over money between bin Laden and his No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, led the group to split into two factions five or six years ago, with the larger faction controlled by al-Zawahri, according to two senior Pakistani military officials. Bin Laden was "cash strapped" in his final days, they said.

The officers spoke to a small group of Pakistani reporters late Thursday, and their comments were confirmed for The Associated Press by another top military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issues. The officer didn't provide details or say how his agency knew about bin Laden's financial situation or the split with his deputy.

The image coming out of Washington based on information seized from bin Laden's compound was far different. The confiscated materials revealed al-Qaida plans for derailing an American train on the upcoming 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. counterterrorism officials say.

They believe the plot, which seemed to be formulated in February 2010, was only in the initial planning stages, and there was no recent intelligence about any active plan for such an attack. The FBI and Homeland Security issued an intelligence bulletin with details of the plan to law enforcement around the country. The bulletin, marked "for official use only," was obtained by the AP.

Already tense military and intelligence relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have been further strained by the raid that killed bin Laden.

Both countries have an interest in their version of bin Laden's hidden life.

A weak bin Laden would make Pakistan's failure to unearth his hiding place in Abbottabad, a military town just two-and-a-half hours' drive from the capital, seem less of a glaring embarrassment, while a menacing bin Laden would make the U.S. Navy SEAL raid that killed him a greater triumph.

The proximity of the al-Qaida chief's hideout to an elite military academy and the Pakistani capital has raised suspicions in Washington that bin Laden may have been protected by Pakistani security forces while on the run.

Pakistani officials have denied sheltering him and have criticized the U.S. operation as a violation of their country's sovereignty. Pakistan's army, a key U.S. ally in the Afghan war, threatened on Thursday to review cooperation with Washington if it stages any more attacks like the one that killed bin Laden. The army is considered the strongest institution in Pakistan, but its reputation has taken a beating in the wake of the raid.

Risking more tensions, a U.S. drone strike on Friday killed 15 people, including foreign militants, in North Waziristan, an al-Qaida and Taliban sanctuary close to Afghanistan, said Pakistani intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Such attacks were routine last year, but their frequency has dropped this year amid opposition by the Pakistani security establishment and people on the street.

Hundreds of members of radical Islamic parties protested in several Pakistani cities Friday against the U.S. raid that killed bin Laden.

"America is celebrating Osama bin Laden's killing, but it will be a temporary celebration," said Abdullah Sittar Chishti, a member of the Jamiat Ulema Islam party who attended a rally in Khuchlak, a town in southwestern Baluchistan province.

"After the martyrdom of Osama, billions, trillions of Osamas will be born," Chishti said.

Some of the protesters expressed doubt that bin Laden was actually killed since the U.S. has refused to release pictures of his body.

Al-Qaida confirmed bin Laden's death in an Internet statement Friday and warned that it would seek revenge by attacking the United States. And the Afghan Taliban issued a statement saying the al-Qaida leader's death would boost morale among insurgents battling the U.S. and NATO in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden and his associates did not offer significant resistance when the American commandos entered the compound, in part because "stun bombs" thrown by the U.S. forces had disoriented them, two Pakistani officials said late Thursday, citing accounts by bin Laden's wives and children.

Pakistani authorities found an AK-47 and a pistol in the house, with evidence that one bullet had been fired from the rifle, said one of the officials.

"That was the level of resistance" they put up, he said.

His account is roughly consistent with the most recent one given by U.S. officials, who now say only one of the five people killed in the raid was armed and fired any shots, a striking departure from the intense and prolonged firefight described earlier by the White House and others in the administration.

U.S. officials say three men and a woman were killed alongside bin Laden, including one of his sons.

Bin Laden's wife, Abdullfattah, was shot in the leg and did not witness her husband being killed, a Pakistani military official said. One of the al-Qaida leader's daughters did see the Americans kill her father, he said.

CIA officers have not been given access to the women or children in custody, the official said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

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Obama meets Osama bin Laden's killers

Fort Campbell, Kentucky (CNN) -- President Barack Obama met Friday afternoon with members of the military team responsible for conducting the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, and promised a war-weary nation victory over al Qaeda.

"We are ultimately going to defeat al Qaeda," the president told more than 2,300 troops who recently returned from Afghanistan. "We have cut off their head."

"Our strategy is working and there is no greater evidence of that than justice finally being delivered to Osama bin Laden," he declared. "We're still the America that does the hard things, that does the great things."

The president made his remarks at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, home to the Army's 101st Airborne Division and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the group that operated the helicopters used in the raid.

Bin Laden death leaves roots of terror untouched

While at Fort Campbell, the president, along with Vice President Joe Biden, privately met with members of Navy SEAL Team 6, the unit that conducted the raid.

Obama and Biden thanked the commandos and were briefed on the operation by the unit members who conducted it, according to a White House official.

Obama awarded Presidential Unit Citations to the units involved in the mission, the official said. The citation is the highest such honor that can be given to a military unit.

"They practiced tirelessly for this mission, and when I gave the order they were ready," the president told the troops. "They're America's quiet professionals."

It was a "job well done," he said.

Did bin Laden's wife rush Navy SEALs?

Friday's visit to Fort Campbell came a day after Obama's first presidential visit to New York's ground zero, the focal point of bin Laden's 9/11 terror attacks.

It also came one day after a nationwide alert was issued regarding rail security, the first terror threat notification linked to materials found during the raid on the Abbottabad compound in Pakistan. The terror plot was planned for the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

As early as February 2010, al Qaeda members discussed a plan to derail trains in the United States by placing obstructions on tracks over bridges and valleys, the alert said, according to one law enforcement official.

No specific rail system was identified in the plans for the attacks, the official said.

With bin Laden's death, there has been a growing call among some lawmakers to immediately withdraw the 130,000 U.S. and allied troops still battling the late al Qaeda leader's followers and his Taliban allies.

Former Pakistan intel chief: Obama lying

Obama has repeatedly said he is confident the United States can meet a self-imposed deadline to begin bringing troops back home in July without compromising Afghan security, though military commanders and government officials have raised concern about the readiness of Afghan security forces.

Lawmakers also have started questioning the U.S. relationship with Pakistan.

During a Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing Thursday, legislators on both sides of the aisle said a new approach to Pakistan is now needed.

Pakistan's government is "very irrational," said Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican.

Obama visits ground zero; honors victims of 9/11

But Pakistani Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir said it is a "false charge" to assert that Pakistani authorities did not go after bin Laden.

He said his country's intelligence agency alerted the United States about the presence of al Qaeda operatives in Abbottabad as early as 2004.

Pakistani armed forces chiefs issued a statement Thursday admitting that there had been "shortcomings in developing intelligence" on the terror leader's presence in the country.

The army chief of staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, also "made it very clear that any similar action, violating the sovereignty of Pakistan, will warrant a review on the level of military/intelligence cooperation with the United States," the statement said.

Trove of data found at bin Laden home

Pakistan has ordered U.S. military personnel on its territory drawn down to the "minimum essential" level in the wake of the raid, the statement said.

Anti-U.S. sentiment was growing in Abbottabad, where about 600 demonstrators gathered Friday at a rally, chanting "Go America, go America, your show is over."

CNN's Bonney Kapp, Brianna Keilar, and Alan Silverleib contributed to this report

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Al-Qaeda confirms bin Laden's death, threatens new attacks

Al-Qaeda has confirmed Osama bin Laden's death in an Internet statement, The Associated Press reports.

The terror network says today in a statement that bin Laden's blood "will not be wasted" and that it will continue attacking Americans and their allies.

Update at 3:01 p.m. ET: The Taliban says bin Laden's death will "give a new impetus" to wage war against the United States and its allies, AP reports.

Update at 9:34 a.m. ET: There was no indication how the group will retaliate. Rather than making vehement cries of vengeance, the statement — entitled "You lived as a good man, you died as a martyr" — struck a tone of calmness and continuation. Though it included praise of bin Laden, much of the 11-paragraph statement was dedicated to underlining that al-Qaeda would live on, depicting him as just another in a line of "martyrs" from the group.

"It is impossible, impossible. Sheik Osama didn't build an organization to die when he dies," the statement reads. "The university of faith, Quran and jihad from which bin Laden graduated will not close its doors," it adds.

"The soldiers of Islam will continue in groups and united, plotting and planning without getting bored, tired, with determination, without giving up until striking a blow," the statement says.

It says bin Laden was killed "along an established path followed by the best of those who came before him and those who will come after him."

The writers of the statement appeared unaware of the announcement by American officials that bin Laden's body had been buried at sea. The statement warns against mishandling or mistreating bin Laden's body and demands that it be handed over to his family, saying "any harm (to the body) will open more doors of evil, and there will be no one to blame but yourselves."

It also says that an audio message bin Laden recorded a week before his death would be issued soon.

Update at 8:55 a.m. ET: The statement, dated May 3, was the first by the terror network since bin Laden was killed by U.S. commandos in a raid on his hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The Associated Press says the statement's authenticity could not be independently confirmed, but it was posted on websites where the group traditionally puts out its messages.

It also says that an audio message bin Laden recorded a week before his death would be issued soon.

"We stress that the blood of the holy warrior sheik, Osama bin Laden, God bless him, is precious to us and to all Muslims and will no go in vain," the statement says. "We will remain, God willing, a curse chasing the Americans and their agents, following them outside and inside their countries."

"Soon, God willing, their happiness will turn to sadness," it says, "their blood will be mingled with their tears."

In the statement, al-Qaeda also calls on the people of Pakistan — "where Sheik Osama was killed" — to rise up in revolt against its leaders.

See photos of: al-Qaeda

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CIA says release of Osama bin Laden's photo likely

Washington (CNN) -- CIA Director Leon Panetta said Tuesday he thinks a photograph of Osama bin Laden's body will be released at some point, but that it is up to the White House to make the final call.

A senior administration official said that no decision has been made yet as to whether to release the photo.

"I just think it's important, they know we have it, to release it," Panetta said.

He did not know when the photograph might be made public.

Two Democratic senators, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Tuesday night they expected a photograph to be released shortly, but they did not have an exact time frame either.

Osama bin Laden's dead, now what?

An image of bin Laden's body could help to convince doubters about his death, but it could also inflame passions against the United States. U.S. officials have said they are weighing the appropriateness of such a release.

According to a senior U.S. official, the White House has received three sets of photographs. The first batch, which clearly show bin Laden's body, was taken at a hangar in Afghanistan, the official said.

The official described one of the images as a clear, but gruesome, picture of his face. Bin Laden is shown with a massive open head wound across both eyes, the official said, adding that the image would not be appropriate for the front pages of newspapers.

The other photos include the raid on the compound and bin Laden's burial at sea, according to the official.

Widely distributed photo is a fake

Tuesday, Sen. Diane Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said she saw no need to release an image since there is other evidence to prove bin Laden is dead.

"I just don't see a need to do it," she said. "The DNA has been dispositive."

But Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman said it may be necessary to release an image to erase any doubts.

"I've said unless al Qaeda acknowledged that bin Laden was dead, it was important for the United States to release pictures of his body to confirm he is dead," he said Tuesday.

CNN's Jessica Yellin and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

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Bin Laden's death scares military families

Priscilla Thurman, with her husband, Sgt. Shawn Thurman, and kids, says she's concerned about his upcoming deployment.News of Osama bin Laden's death met with a mix of elation and fear by military families
Threat of retaliation is shared among many as security alert levels raised
Tonja Dreke, along with other military wives, says, "We are all worried about retribution"
What's your take? Post a video on CNN iReport or sound off in the comments below

(CNN) -- When Priscilla Thurman first heard the news that terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was killed, she was relieved. Soon after though, she said she started to worry about the threat of retaliation directed at U.S. troops.

Thurman, who lives in Killeen, Texas, is anxiously counting down the days until her husband, Sgt. Shawn Thurman, makes his third military deployment, this time to Afghanistan. Bin Laden's death makes the departure even more nerve-racking, she said.

"While most woke up joyous and thinking it's over or we're all safe now, I woke up feeling very uneasy," Thurman wrote on CNN iReport. The 29-year-old mother of three said she was compelled "to share my opinion because I don't know if there's anyone who feels like I do."

As it turns out, Thurman isn't alone. She's among dozens of military wives, mothers and family members who posted iReports and comments on CNN.com expressing concern about the threat of retribution in light of bin Laden's death. As celebrations erupted on college campuses and at monuments across the United States until the wee hours of Monday, the reactions from military families painted a much more somber portrait.

Lori Burdette of Augusta, Georgia, spent Monday morning exchanging text messages and Facebook posts with other military wives concerned about their husbands' safety. "I just feel that the general public doesn't realize what this could mean to our military," she said. "They want to think that this might end the war, but what I'm hearing and feeling from other military wives is fear -- fear that this will escalate the evil and cause more harm to our men and women in uniform."

Read Burdette's thoughts on CNN iReport

Although bin Laden's death undoubtedly weakened al Qaeda, many said they expect the terrorist organization to strike back. The U.S. State Department has issued a worldwide travel advisory for Americans traveling abroad, and a soldier in a special forces unit based in Georgia told CNN on Monday that elite military units have sprung into high alert.

"We are all worried about retribution," said Tonja Dreke, who lives at the Schofield Barracks Army post in Wahiawa, Hawaii. "We are scared for the service members currently deployed; we are scared to live on post, where we have the potential to also be a target."

"I just feel that the general public doesn't realize what this could mean to our military.
--Lori Burdette

Since September 11, her husband has been deployed to Iraq twice and Afghanistan once. Dreke knows that bin Laden's death doesn't mean the threat of deployments will end anytime soon, but she said she does feel some sense of relief.

"I really thought that the man would probably die in the mountains of his own health-related issues. That wasn't the way any of us wanted to see him go," she said. "Whether morally wrong to feel this way, we wanted the U.S. to get him. We wanted it to be our guys who killed him. There's a bit more satisfaction in that than to just know he was gone."

Despite all the fears of retaliation, there were moments of celebration, too. Andrew Tyler McDermott, a student at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, captured photos of Navy midshipmen celebrating the death of the terrorist leader Sunday night. The images show a mob of students cheering and running across campus.

McDermott said it was a touching sight. "It was very inspiring when they sang the national anthem; some people even began to cry," he said.

And for Tosha Phillips of Macon, Georgia, bin Laden's death brings her some much-needed closure. She was just 27 when her husband, Staff Sgt. Ronald Phillips Jr., was killed in Iraq in October 2008.

See CNN's Home and Away tribute page to Sgt. Phillips

When she heard the reports that bin Laden had been killed, she cried tears of joy. "Now I feel that my husband's death was for a reason," she said.

Phillips imagined her husband dancing in heaven upon hearing the news of bin Laden's demise. "It gave me hope that one day this war will end, and one day the troops will come home," she said.

CNN's David Williams and Daphne Sashin contributed to this report.

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Bin Laden's death creates leadership void, may spark reprisals

WASHINGTON — The death of Osama bin Laden, celebrated in the U.S. and other countries targeted by al-Qaeda, is likely to throw the terrorist group's surviving leadership into chaos and spawn reprisals from affiliate groups attempting to fill the void left by the longtime terror icon, security analysts and government officials said Monday.

In this 1998 file photo, Ayman al-Zawahri, left, poses for a photograph with Osama bin Laden, right, in Khost, Afghanistan.

By Mazhar Ali Khan, AP

In this 1998 file photo, Ayman al-Zawahri, left, poses for a photograph with Osama bin Laden, right, in Khost, Afghanistan.

"Decapitation does not mean the end of the movement," said Georgetown University professor Bruce Hoffman, who has studied terrorism and insurgencies for more than three decades.

"Some may see this as an opportunity to steal the limelight," Hoffman said. "While the risk (of new attacks) may go up, the good news is that in the rush to do something, some of these (groups) may go off half-cocked" and allow U.S. officials to learn more about the surviving terror networks.

For years, bin Laden's grip on the operational workings of al-Qaeda had loosened dramatically as thousands of operatives were captured or killed on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq and drone attacks chased top terror leaders deeper into hiding, the analysts said.

But what survives and continues to thrive is a fractured network of small terrorist franchises ? many inspired by bin Laden's successful 9/11 assault ? strewn across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The Middle Eastern nation of Yemen is now regarded by the U.S. government as the new global base of terrorist operations.

"Al-Qaeda, the organization, is hurting, but the fight in the coming years will be with al-Qaeda-ism ? the movement that survives bin Laden," said Phil Mudd, former executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch. "All of this celebration on the streets in Washington and New York represents a misunderstanding of the threat we face."

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of al-Qaeda's continuing influence is the emergence of so-called homegrown U.S. operatives who have drawn inspiration from bin Laden and, more recently, radical Yemen cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, said Tom Kean, co-chairman of the 9/11 Commission, which identified a series of government security failures leading up to the 2001 attacks.

Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, accused in the 2009 massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, where 13 people were killed, allegedly sought guidance from al-Awlaki prior to the shooting. The U.S.-born cleric also supported the 2009 Christmas Day attempted bombing of a commercial jet over Detroit. The suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, is alleged to have trained for the mission in Yemen.

The incidents were part of a string of recent plots, many featuring U.S. residents, who unsuccessfully targeted a range of targets, from Times Square and the New York subway system to a Portland Christmas tree lighting ceremony and a military recruiting office in suburban Baltimore.

"The increasing threat of homegrown terrorism is part of the (al-Qaeda) legacy," Kean said, adding that the threat is likely to intensify in the aftermath of bin Laden's death.

"They will want to show that they are still alive," the former New Jersey governor said. "They will attempt to do something." Kean said.

The prospect of reprisals has prompted the FBI and police agencies to bolster the law enforcement presence in several major cities. None of the agencies said they were acting on a specific threat, but were increasing such things as patrols at key landmarks and transportation hubs as a precaution.

"We have to assume that among bin Laden's disciples are those who would like nothing better than to avenge his death by striking New York City again," New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Monday.

Marc Sageman, a terror analyst who has served as a consultant for the New York Police Department, said U.S. officials were over-estimating al-Qaeda's capacity to strike. And with bin Laden gone, he said, the terror organization would struggle to attract new recruits.

"Some person may become the new head of the global jihadist network, but nobody will ever come close to Osama bin Laden."

While bin Laden's assassination was lauded by White House Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan as a "defining moment" for U.S. counterterrorism operations, the celebration was tempered by talk of a continuing battle with no end in sight.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a member of the Armed Services Committee, said bin Laden's death "deals a huge symbolic blow to al-Qaeda."

"Bin Laden was al-Qaeda," said Reed, adding that the terrorist leader's death should alarm the group's surviving members, including top lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahri, about their own security.

Despite those considerations, Reed said al-Qaeda remained a continuing threat to U.S. interests.

"This does not eliminate the threat of terrorism," Reed said. "It does not eliminate the threat of cells operating independently. This is a multiyear, perhaps generational, effort that requires as much diplomacy as it does military action to defeat."

Jane Harman, a former California congresswoman who served as the Democratic ranking member of the Homeland Security intelligence subcommittee, said al-Qaeda will likely survive bin Laden's death.

"I think we should continue to worry," said Harman, now president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. "The symbolic leader is gone. But the operational leaders are not gone. Al-Qaeda is like an amoeba.

"The end of this will not just be capture-and-kill operations," she said. "The end of this is winning the argument. We have to project a narrative that is more appealing to those who might be suicide bombers or the heads of al-Qaeda affiliates."

Contributing: Richard Wolf

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Reactions to bin Laden's death vary across Mideast

BEIRUT — The demise of Osama bin Laden was praised by many nations victimized by the jihadist violence of al-Qaeda, though some said it would not by itself end the jihadist movement he helped create.

Douglas Sidialo, who lost his sight in al-Qaeda's 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, prays on Monday at the memorial in Nairobi to those who died in the attack.

By Khalil Senosi, AP

Douglas Sidialo, who lost his sight in al-Qaeda's 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, prays on Monday at the memorial in Nairobi to those who died in the attack.

"This is the fate that evil killers deserve," said outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, deploring the harm that bin Laden did to "the image of Islam and Arab causes."

Author and Al-Hayat journalist Hazem al-Amine, who specializes in radical Islamic groups in Lebanon, saw hope in the death. "Bin Laden's assassination comes as the crowning of a new peaceful movement that is taking the Middle East by storm," he said. The popular uprisings taking place in the Middle East "are showing Arabs that democratic revolutions are an efficient substitute to violence, one that can trigger greater change than traditional terrorist attacks."

Al-Qaeda has lost standing among Muslims as its use of terrorist tactics has resulted in significant Muslim casualties. A recent survey of Muslims around the world found little support for bin Laden, according to the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. The al-Qaeda leader received his highest level of support ? 34% ? in the Palestinian territories.

"They have lost the support of the Sunni community in Iraq. This has constituted a major drawback for the organization, which depends essentially on guerrilla warfare," and cooperation of local populations, al-Amine says.

Still, al-Qaeda's attacks have continued in many countries. Sheik Omar Bakri, a radical Lebanese, expects al-Qaeda to retaliate in the West in a manner that "will befit bin Laden's reputation.

"The assassination of Sheik Osama will further boost the organization's efforts to recruit followers."

In Afghanistan, where bin Laden was given refuge by the country's previous Taliban rulers, local officials erupted in applause when President Hamid Karzai told them the news.

Bin Laden's hands "were dipped in the blood of thousands and thousands of children, youths and elders of Afghanistan," Karzai said.

Others in the war-torn nation disagreed about bin Laden's legacy.

"He was like a hero in the Muslim world," said Sayed Jalal, a rickshaw driver in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. "His struggle was always against non-Muslims and infidels, and against superpowers."

Those who followed or sympathized with bin Laden expressed shock and dismay, or vowed revenge.

"My heart is broken," said Mohebullah, a Taliban fighter-turned-farmer in eastern Afghanistan. "In the past, we heard a lot of rumors about his death, but if he did die, it is a disaster and a black day."

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Politicians rally around bin Laden's demise

Political leaders celebrated the announcement of Osama bin Laden's death, congratulating American troops, the intelligence community and the White House for putting an end to the hunt for the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Then-GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., pauses after placing a wreath at the temporary United Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pa., on Sept. 11, 2008.

Stephan Savoia, AP

Then-GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., pauses after placing a wreath at the temporary United Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pa., on Sept. 11, 2008.

The inability to find bin Laden has frustrated U.S. lawmakers and politicians for nearly a decade. While they almost uniformly responded with elation to the news, most also warned the terrorist threat is still very much alive.

Former president George W. Bush, who led the nation on the day of the 2001 attacks, issued a statement congratulating President Obama and "the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission."

Bush said the fight against terror must continue, but that "America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done."

Rudy Giuliani, the mayor of New York on 9-11, praised President Obama's "courage" and called bin Laden's death a "significant step" in the war on terror.

But he told Politico the tones of jubilation feel strange to him.

"I feel a great deal of satisfaction that justice has been done, and I admire the courage of the president to make a decision like this because if something had gone wrong everyone would be blaming him," Giuliani said. "And I admire the courage and professionalism of our military intelligence officials... but I don't feel like celebrating (as if it's) the end of World War II, because the war is still going on."

Former president Bill Clinton, who was in office during the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, congratulated Obama and then wrote. "This is a profoundly important moment not just for the families of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and in al-Qaeda's other attacks but for people all over the world who want to build a common future of peace, freedom, and cooperation for our children."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the U.S. message to al-Qaeda remains the same today, but "may have even greater resonance" in the wake of bin Laden's death.

"You cannot wait us out, you cannot defeat us," Clinton said at the State Department. "But you can make the choice to abandon al-Qaeda and participate in a peaceful political process."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was informed of bin Laden's death by the White House around 9:30 pm Sunday and was contacted by President Obama shortly after. Reid, D-Nevada, described Obama's tone as "very somber."

Asked whether bin Laden's death would speed up the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, Reid said Obama indicated the current timetable of a July withdrawal would remain in place.

Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called to inform the Michigan Democrat of bin Laden's death as he waited to board a plane in Detroit.

Levin said Pakistani military and intelligence organizations "have a lot of explaining to do" due to the proximity of bin Laden's hide out to a major Pakistani military and intelligence complex.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was notified by Vice President Biden.

"Our nation owes a great debt of gratitude to our intelligence community and military for pursuing this manhunt for almost 10 years and successfully eliminating the most high profile terrorist on earth," Durbin said in a statement.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, noted bin Laden's death was the work of two administrations. "I want to congratulate ? and thank ? the hard-working men and women of our armed forces and intelligence community for their tireless efforts and perseverance that led to this success," Boehner said. "I also want to commend President Obama and his team, as well as President Bush, for all of their efforts to bring Osama bin Laden to justice."

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, on Monday announced that his panel will hold another series of hearings on Afghanistan, assess the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan, and examine regional implications. Under Senator Kerry's chairmanship, the Committee has already conducted 14 oversight hearings on the war.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, said in a statement: "I am overjoyed that we finally got the world's top terrorist. The world is a better and more just place now that Osama bin Laden is no longer in it."

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., one of Obama's most vocal critics on national security issues, commended the president. "In 2001, President Bush said 'we will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail,'" King said in a statement. "President Bush deserves great credit for putting action behind those words. President Obama deserves equal credit for his resolve in this long war against al-Qaeda."

Even the field of GOP 2012 contenders, who have been among the most critical of the Obama administration's foreign and domestic policies, praised the mission and the White House.

"This is a great victory for lovers of freedom and justice everywhere. Congratulations to our intelligence community, our military and the president," former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said in a statement.

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty called the announcement "terrific news for freedom and justice."

"In the hours after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush promised that America would bring Osama bin Laden to justice and we did," he said. "I want to congratulate America's armed forces and President Obama for a job well done."

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., who is also a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on her Twitter account, "A time to express our gratitude to the U.S. military for taking out Osama bin Laden."

Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, also tweeted: "Thank you, American men and women in uniform. You are America's finest and we are all so proud. Thank you for fighting against terrorism."

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Clinton: Bin Laden's death doesn't end war on terror

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that the U.S. message to al-Qaeda remains the same today, but it "might have even greater resonance" in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton makes a statement regarding the death of Osama bin Laden on Monday.

By Jacquelyn Martin, AP

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton makes a statement regarding the death of Osama bin Laden on Monday.

"You cannot defeat us," Clinton said at the State Department, urging al-Qaeda members to renounce the terror organization and back U.S. efforts to stop violence against innocents. "The fight continues and we will never waver."

Clinton said bin Laden's death was a milestone in the war on terrorism, but stressed that the "battle to stop al-Qaeda and its syndicate of terror" is not over. Clinton said cooperation with Pakistan helped lead the U.S. to the compound where bin Laden was killed and the U.S. would continue to boost its counterterrorism cooperation with other nations, including Pakistan.

But John Brennan, White House advisor on Homeland Security, said at a press briefing Monday that it was inconceivable that bin Laden didn't have some kind of support in Pakistan.

"People are raising questions and understandably so," he said. "A number of people have questions on whether there was some kind of support by the Pakistani government."

The death of bin Laden, while celebrated in the U.S. and other countries that have been al-Qaeda's targets, is likely to set off a spasm of attacks aimed at re-establishing the terror organization's international credentials and avenging the killing of its longtime leader, security analysts said.

"Decapitation does not mean the end of the movement," said Georgetown University professor Bruce Hoffman, who has studied terrorism and insurgencies for more than three decades.

Hoffman said al-Qaeda's surviving franchises are likely to be joined by other aspiring groups jockeying to fill a leadership void left in the wake of bin Laden's death.

"Some may see this as an opportunity to steal the limelight," Hoffman said. "While the risk may go up, the good news is that in the rush to do something, some of these (attacks) may go off half-cocked" and allow U.S. officials to learn more about the surviving terror networks.

The head of the House Homeland Security Committee said Monday that the United States must temper victory with vigilance in the wake of bin Laden's assassination.

Rep. Pete King told NBC's Today show the al-Qaeda terrorist organization could "try to avenge this death" and said "we'll have to be on full alert."

The New York Republican predicted "a fight for power" within al-Qaeda. King also said there will be "round-the-clock" government surveillance to determine if al-Qaeda is planning or organizing a retaliatory attack. He said federal agencies will be trying to find out if an attack is possible or imminent, "and how we can prevent it, how we can stop it."

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the government has no plans to raise the terror alert level in the U.S. as a result of bin Laden's death.

Napolitano said elevated terror alerts will only be issued when the government has specific or credible intelligence it can share with the American public.

Some communities around the country, including the New York City subway system, have increased security out of concerns of potential retaliation attacks. Napolitano said the country remains at a heightened state of vigilance, and the U.S. is safer than it was on Sept. 11, 2001 because bin Laden is dead.

Retaliatory attacks against the U.S. and Western targets could come from members of al-Qaeda's core branch in the tribal areas of Pakistan, al-Qaeda franchises in other countries, and radicalized individuals in the U.S. with al-Qaeda sympathies, according to a Homeland Security Department intelligence alert issued Sunday and obtained by the Associated Press.

Bin Laden was more of a symbol than anything else, said Qaribut Ustad Saeed, a longtime member of the Hezb-e-Islami rebel group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the U.S. has labeled a terrorist.

Saeed is currently a member of the Afghan High Peace Council set up to try to negotiate a peace settlement with the Taliban. Bin Laden's loss will be an inspirational one, rather than an operational one, he said.

"Osama bin Laden became a symbol and inspiration for the young Muslim extremists," he said. But the group has expanded into a worldwide movement that is now bigger than bin Laden, he said.

Family members of those killed in the World Trade Center attack were cautious Monday about the future.

"This is a good thing and it needed to happen. But it doesn't change everything," said Lynn Faulkner of Mason, Ohio, who lost his wife Wendy at the World Trade Center, where she was on business. "It's one battle in a war. He was a figurehead."

"It's not an end to anything," said Neda Bolourchi of Los Angeles, a Muslim whose mother Touri was a passenger on United Flight 175, which hijackers crashed into the World Trade Center. "His ideology is still rampant in the Arab world. But this is a dent. You wonder ? 'Is it really gonna make a difference?' Symbolically it does. … Justice was done."

"I've been waiting for this for 10 years," said Sheila Flocco of Wilmington, Del., whose only child -- 21-year-old Matthew -- was among those killed at the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into it. "I know it's probably putting our country in danger again. Retaliation for his death could come and I'd hate to see that happen. But in the same breath, I'm glad they finally got him."

The State Department issued a worldwide advisory to U.S. citizens traveling and living abroad about the potential for anti-American violence in the wake of bin Laden's death.

"Given the uncertainty and volatility of the current situation, U.S. citizens in areas where recent events could cause anti-American violence are strongly urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations," the advisory said.

U.S. government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert, the State Department said, and some may temporarily close or suspend public services when necessary.

Mark Lytle, Bard College historian and co-author of the American history textbook, Nation of Nations, called the killing of bin Laden "a shot in the arm for America's image," especially compared to the debacle that resulted when President Jimmy Carter mounted a similar effort to rescue American hostages in Iran in 1980.

"Americans can take a certain comfort that we were able to do this, especially in a period that's been pretty grim for the average citizen," he said Monday.

But for all the euphoria, Lytle said bin Laden's demise probably seems more important now than it will in retrospect.

"This is sweet revenge, but it won't change much," he said. "Sept. 11 will be remembered because so much changed."

Contributing: Johnson and David Jackson reported from Washington, D.C.; Hampson reported from New York; Carolyn Pesce in McLean, Va.; Tim Konski and Beth Miller, The (Wilmington, Del.) News-Journal; the Associated Press.

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Travel warning after bin Laden's death

Air travelers pass through security at Orlando International Airport in Florida on Monday.Department of State warns U.S. citizens traveling and living abroad to be on alertDepartment of Homeland Security does not intend to issue an alert at this timeSecurity always includes both seen and unseen measures, government saysSecurity expert: "It's just important that all Americans are a little extra vigilant"

(CNN) -- Travelers expressed both relief and concern about the death of Osama Bin Laden, the terror mastermind who changed airport security forever after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Bin Laden's killing brought immediate global travel warnings even as many fliers pondered whether the terror threat they've had to worry about for almost a decade would ultimately subside.

Passengers on board El Al flight 27 from Tel Aviv -- the first international flight to arrive Monday morning at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport -- found out about the news when they touched down.

"It gives a greater feeling of security knowing there's one less person who wants to kill people," said Manny Landau.

But other passengers wondered what's next.

"The people on the flight started saying, 'Well does that mean the cells will be more active? Will there be revenge actions?' You know, we worry," said Kira Sirote, who witnessed the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

But Sirote and a dozen other passengers on the flight who spoke with CNN said they had no intention of changing their travel plans.

The U.S. Department of State, however, warned U.S. citizens traveling and living abroad to be on alert for the "enhanced potential for anti-American violence."

The agency also strongly urged U.S. citizens "in areas where recent events could cause anti-American violence" to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations.

No new airport alert

But Bin Laden's death doesn't necessarily mean travelers will see stricter security at the airport.

The Department of Homeland Security remains at a heightened state of vigilance, but does not intend to issue an alert at this time, said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano in a statement.

"We will only issue alerts when we have specific or credible information to convey to the American public," Napolitano said.

"However, our security posture, which always includes a number of measures both seen and unseen, will continue to respond appropriately to protect the American people from an evolving threat picture both in the coming days and beyond."

CNN's Allan Chernoff saw no noticeable change to security at Newark International Airport on Monday.

Still, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- which owns and operates airports including Newark International, JFK International and LaGuardia -- said it was increasing police presence at its facilities.

The response was not based on a current threat, but out of an abundance of caution and all facilities would remain fully operational and at normal service levels, the Port Authority said in a statement.

Watching carefully

Security experts said the government is trying to avoid being overly alarmist about any threat, but wants travelers to be aware about their surroundings.

"I think what we're likely to see is some fairly amateurish attacks over the next maybe two to three weeks. Certainly U.S. interests primarily abroad, so U.S. visitors and workers who live overseas should be particularly careful," said Michael Barrett, former director of strategy for the White House Homeland Security Council.

"We certainly want to be prepared and it's just important that all Americans are a little extra vigilant."

Meanwhile, other countries were quick to follow the U.S. Department of State in issuing a travel alert. The Australian government on Monday warned its citizens about an "enhanced risk of anti-Western violence" following bin Laden's death.

Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office urged British nationals overseas to "monitor the media carefully for local reactions, remain vigilant, exercise caution in all public places and avoid demonstrations, large crowds of people and public events."

CNN's Allan Chernoff contributed to this report.

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Bin Laden's death brings 'closure'

The Bible clearly justifies the killing of bin Laden, a megachurch pastor saysAmerican Muslims hope his death will lead to reconciliationWidow: "I feel better... like I can start a new chapter in my life"A college student shaves a friend's hair into the letters "USA"

(CNN) -- The hijacked jet planes that roared out of a clear blue sky one sunny September morning 10 years ago killed nearly 3,000 people, but the hurt they did spread far beyond the immediate death and destruction at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The damage was mental, psychological, even spiritual.

And the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of U.S. special operations forces may help to start some healing, said Christian and Muslim religious leaders, relatives of victims, and a generation who grew in the shadow of 9/11.

"There is a sense that justice has been done," said Joel Hunter, senior pastor of the 12,000-member Northland Church in Orlando, Florida, and a spiritual adviser to President Barack Obama.

"There is a scripture, Genesis 9:6, that says, 'He who sheds man's blood, by man his blood be shed.' There is a certain kind of sense of relief that that has been accomplished," Hunter said.

"This man was symbolic of much that threatened our country and our way of life," the pastor said.

Hunter also cited the verse promising that "those who mourn will be comforted," saying they might "find some sort of solace in this event."

Those verses are much more relevant than Jesus' admonition to "turn the other cheek," he said.

"That particular scripture has to do with insult and not with self-defense," he said.

The terror attacks that bin Laden authorized are "not even in the category of forgiveness," so killing him "really is in a category that, for 99.9% of Americans, would be beyond question ... the right thing."

Diana Massaroli, whose husband died in the World Trade Center, certainly has no questions about it.

Michael Massaroli, 38, was working for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 101st floor of the North Tower on September 11, 2001, when a jet plane slammed into the floors beneath him.

His body was never found.

His son was 6 years old at the time.

His widow has been grieving ever since. But early Monday, at ground zero where the towers once stood, she said she was finally experiencing some catharsis.

"I'm missing him, but I feel that justice has been done," she said, holding a picture of Michael.

"I feel some overall calm that I haven't felt in 10 years. I never thought it would happen... never thought it would give me a feeling of closure," she said. Now, she added, "I feel better ... like I can start a new chapter in my life."

Relatives of the victims are not the only Americans feeling relief Monday morning -- American Muslims also hope the death of bin Laden will open a new chapter in history.

The 2001 attacks opened a "wound has never quite healed," said Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, formerly of the controversial Park51 Muslim community center planned for lower Manhattan, not far from the former site of the twin towers.

"The killing of Osama bin Laden is a major milestone," he said. "It expresses the sense that there is a sense of healing beginning to take place."

Far from New York City, American Muslim lawyer Asma Hasan agrees that Osama bin Laden wounded the country's Muslims, but is not sure his death with heal anything.

"The 9/11 attacks changed my life forever in a very challenging way," said Hasan, who lives in Denver, Colorado. "It's 10 years later and people still question us" American Muslims.

"We have all had to become ambassadors for our religion, we have had to condemn every terrorist attack or be labeled a supporter of terrorism," she said.

"None of us can be a quiet person that just goes to our jobs, we have all had to become multifaith activists who reach out," said Hasan, the author of "Red, White and Muslim."

"I don't think the death of Osama will change that," she said.

Steve Bernstein, whose older brother, Billy, worked in the World Trade Center, said he was "very elated" at the news bin Laden was dead.

"We have been waiting for this for a long time," he said. "I felt that it was just a great moment for the country."

He said the scenes of jubilation across the United States should not be seen as people celebrating somebody's death, but as a recognition that "everyone feels that capturing bin Laden or killing bin Laden was something that needed to be done."

Bernstein had another brother who also worked in the World Trade Center but left to go to the bank just before the first plane hit.

"He said as soon as he saw it, he knew" Billy was dead, Bernstein said. Unlike some others in the towers, Billy Bernstein did not call to say goodbye, Steve Bernstein said.

"We never heard from him," he said.

Hunting down bin Laden at last "shows the strength of America, shows we're not going to put up with it," he said, adding it would "make the terrorists think twice."

Bernstein was "a little surprised" bin Laden was buried at sea immediately after his death, he said, fearing it would fuel conspiracy theories.

But in the final analysis, he said, "the world can feel a little bit safer right now."

Another 9/11 widow, Kristen Breitweiser, said the death of bin Laden would change the world.

"My 12-year-old daughter will wake tomorrow to a safer world, hopefully a more peaceful world. And that brings me a rare sense of relief," she said in a statement, adding that she was "enormously grateful for the tireless effort and incredible courage and bravery of our counter-terrorism agents.

There were also more raucous celebrations going on at ground zero, including groups of young local men waving flags and chanting "USA! USA!"

"It took 10 years, but the fact that it happened today, we're all rejoicing," one of them told CNN, adding that "everybody in America" was celebrating the death of bin Laden.

In Oxford, Ohio, Miami University student Mike Chase celebrated by shaving a friend's hair into the letters "USA" with two red stars.

"The announcement means that when we set out to accomplish something we follow through. It's a great milestone on the fight against terrorism," the 21-year-old said.

The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association hailed the "annihilation" of bin Laden as "triumphant news."

"I would say, 'May God have mercy on his hideous soul,' but I don't think he had one," the organization's president, Jon Adler, said. "As we draw near September 11 and mourn the loss of our loved ones, let this victory remind all that the indomitable American will stands strong and eternal."

CNN's Eric Marrapodi, Jason Carroll and Ali Velshi contributed to this report.

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Politicians rally around bin Laden's demise

Political leaders celebrated the announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed on Sunday, congratulating American troops, the intelligence community and the White House for putting an end to the hunt for the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

var data = blocks.columnist;if (data != undefined){document.getElementById('columnistmug').innerHTML=data;} Stephan Savoia, AP

Then-GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., pauses after placing a wreath at the temporary United Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pa., on Sept. 11, 2008.

Stephan Savoia, AP

Then-GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., pauses after placing a wreath at the temporary United Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pa., on Sept. 11, 2008.

The inability to find bin Laden has frustrated lawmakers throughout Washington for nearly a decade. While they almost uniformly responded with elation to the news, most also warned the terrorist threat is still very much alive.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., were both notified by Vice President Biden that bin Laden had been killed by American forces.

"Our nation owes a great debt of gratitude to our intelligence community and military for pursuing this manhunt for almost ten years and successfully eliminating the most high profile terrorist on earth," Durbin said in a statement. " hose who believed bin Laden and his network were invincible will now awaken to a new reality."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, noted bin Laden's death was the work of two administrations. "I want to congratulate ? and thank ? the hard-working men and women of our armed forces and intelligence community for their tireless efforts and perseverance that led to this success," Boehner said. "I also want to commend President Obama and his team, as well as President Bush, for all of their efforts to bring Osama bin Laden to justice."

Former president Bill Clinton, who was in office during the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, congratulated Obama and then wrote. "This is a profoundly important moment not just for the families of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and in al-Qaeda's other attacks but for people all over the world who want to build a common future of peace, freedom, and cooperation for our children."

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, stressed that while bin Laden's death was welcome news, it should not be seen as an act of vengeance.

"The killing of Osama bin Laden closes an important chapter in our war against extremists who kill innocent people around the world," he said in a statement. "We are a nation of peace and laws, and people everywhere should understand that our ten-year manhunt was in search of justice not revenge."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, said in a statement: "I am overjoyed that we finally got the world's top terrorist. The world is a better and more just place now that Osama bin Laden is no longer in it. … But while we take heart in the news that Osama bin Laden is dead, we must be mindful that al-Qaeda and its terrorist allies are still lethal and determined enemies, and we must remain vigilant to defeat them"

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., one of Obama's most vocal critics on national security issues, commended the president. "In 2001, President Bush said 'we will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail,'" King said in a statement. "President Bush deserves great credit for putting action behind those words. President Obama deserves equal credit for his resolve in this long war against al-Qaeda."

Even the field of GOP 2012 contenders, who have been among the most critical of the Obama administration's foreign and domestic policies, praised the mission and the White House.

"This is a great victory for lovers of freedom and justice everywhere. Congratulations to our intelligence community, our military and the president," former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said in a statement.

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty called the announcement "terrific news for freedom and justice."

"In the hours after the 9/11 attacks, President Bush promised that America would bring Osama bin Laden to justice and we did," he said. "I want to congratulate America's armed forces and President Obama for a job well done."

Rep. Michele Bachmann, who is also a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said on her Twitter account,"A time to express our gratitude to the U.S. military for taking out Osama bin Laden."

Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, also tweeted: "Thank you, American men and women in uniform. You are America's finest and we are all so proud. Thank you for fighting against terrorism."

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