Osama Bin Laden Compound as seen on BBC

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By Pdunn @ 2011-05-02 08:17:38

@ 34.16924397, 73.24279189

Abbottābad, Pakistan (PK)

House No 3, Street No 8-A, Garga Road, Thanda Chowa, Hashmi Colony, Abbottabad.

The target of the operation was the compound, which had at its center a large three-story building.

Links: www.bbc.co.uk

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Anonymous

@ 2011-05-02 08:29:02

I guess hindsight is 20/20. But with the size of the building and the big wall, it looks like a place you would want to know who lives there. Considering the location and the size of surrounding homes.

Parabellum

@ 2011-05-02 08:34:03

Wikimapia concurs: http://wikimapia.org#lat=34.1693017&lon=73.242588&z=18&l=0&m=b&search=Osama Bin Laden Compound

BermudaBreeze

@ 2011-05-02 08:46:43

Hi, Yes maybe the BBC have it right..Not sure yet though. The property in the BBC location
appears not to have any other builldings/properties around it, where as in the news reports/videos
it does.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3559509/Bin-Ladens-life-of-luxury-revealed.html

Unless the google imagry is very old?? I guess we will find out for sure in the next few days.
cheers BB

Parabellum

@ 2011-05-02 08:51:55

Google Earth pegs the imagery as June 15 2005.

giove

@ 2011-05-02 09:24:22

in the field near the compound we can see some piles of loose soil, the building in 2005 is under construction

BermudaBreeze

@ 2011-05-02 09:30:28

Sky News has the compound North of the Kakul academy not south which contradicts the BBC location
News Video below.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/Video-Sky-News-On-Bin-Ladens-Compound/Video/201105115984013?lid=VIDEO_15984013_VideoSkyNewsOnBinLadensCompound&lpos=searchresults

Pdunn

@ 2011-05-02 10:25:03

The Pentagon has confirmed that the (Parabellum) BBC location is the correct one. Here are their photos of the compound published in The National Journal: http://nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/pictures-u-s-photos-of-the-bin-laden-compound-20110502

Pdunn

@ 2011-05-02 10:41:55

A post-strike video shot by a local Abbottābad resident: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlWMsApBOws&feature=player_embedded

mlc1us

@ 2011-05-02 10:42:50

CIA images here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/satellite-images-of-bin-ladens-compound-2011-5

BermudaBreeze

@ 2011-05-02 10:54:30

great! well that confirms the bbc location

neotrix

@ 2011-05-02 11:42:43

Finding Osama Bin Laden’s Abbottabad mansion
http://ogleearth.com/2011/05/finding-osama-bin-ladens-abbottabad-mansion-with-google-earth/

kjfitz

@ 2011-05-02 13:00:29

I've read multiple references to a replica site built in the US for practice. It will be interesting to see if future imagery of some of the US special forces training sites have captured the replica compound. I know SEALs train at Eglin AFB. The team that went in was former Seal Team 6 (i.e DEBGRU). I have no idea where they might have conducted their training. They are garrisoned at Oceana in Virginia. Maybe they trained at Quantico.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Naval_Special_Warfare_Development_Group#Death_of_Osama_bin_Laden

Parabellum

@ 2011-05-02 14:46:49

I forget where I read it, but the training site was a fenced off area at Bagram Air Base.

jbottero

@ 2011-05-02 16:54:17

Maybe not, Parabellum, several media sources say they recreated the house state-side. So, perhaps Fort Lewis, where there are other recreations as well?

jbottero

@ 2011-05-02 18:10:27

Also, as to the floor plan, remember, this is a town that Intel would be interested in anyway. As the building was being built, floor by floor, classified sat images would be available. At the time the images were taken, perhaps no one had any interest in this house. But none the less, this is certainly how they knew the floor plan and built a copy.

Parabellum

@ 2011-05-03 04:43:26

This HVT was special, and the raids required practice, so they replicated the one-acre compound at Camp Alpha, a segregated section of Bagram Air Base. Trial runs were held in early April.

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/05/the-secret-team-that-killed-osama-bin-laden/238163/

skyeye

@ 2011-05-03 05:56:16

more photos/info at Cryptome:
http://cryptome.org/eyeball/obl-kill/obl-kill.htm

Pdunn

@ 2011-05-03 06:40:13

Great link, Skyeye. The photo of the compound (immediately after the helicopter wreckage against the wall) illustrates just how ironic it is that OBL would locate here. The large script written across the mountainside says "Home of the Pfiffers 2005" — the moniker of the Pakistani Army's Frontier Force Regiment. Evidently, it was scrawled on the mountainside the same year Osama's compound was being constructed beneath it.

Pdunn

@ 2011-05-03 09:39:34

More on the helo wreckage featured in Skyeye's link. Here's a closer look at it as featured in Aviation Week. Turns out it is a newly developed stealth version of the Blackhawk UH-60.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:275902dd-e7a2-40fd-ab78-d46e3bf922b1&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest

Pdunn

@ 2011-05-04 13:39:22

Interesting that the epicenter of Pakistan's big earthquake 08-05-2005 was just 32.5 km away and happened the same year OBL purportedly moved into his compound.

Parabellum

@ 2011-05-04 16:35:40

Some artists conceptual drawing of what the crashed 'Stealthhawk' might have looked like: http://defensetech.org/2011/05/04/what-the-secret-bin-laden-raid-helo-might-look-like/

neotrix

@ 2011-05-09 12:58:11

The actual plans for Bin Laden’s house.
http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/05/06/the-actuals-plan-for-bin-ladens-pucca-house/

http://curbed.com/archives/2011/05/09/architectural-plans-for-osama-bin-ladens-house-revealed-1.php

WacoKidd110

@ 2012-05-17 05:49:39

Model of the compound used to plan the raid

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/16/11738144-pentagon-unveils-scale-model-of-bin-laden-compound?lite

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