Back To Top

Pakistan begins demolition of bin Laden's compound

 Under powerful floodlights and surrounded by rings of soldiers and police, heavy machines began Saturday night to demolish the three-story compound in northwestern Pakistan where Osama bin Laden lived for years and was killed by U.S. commandos last May.


In this photograph taken on May 3, 2011, Pakistani media personnel and local residents gather outside the hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad following his death in a US Special Forces ground operation. (AFP)
In this photograph taken on May 3, 2011, Pakistani media personnel and local residents gather outside the hideout of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad following his death in a US Special Forces ground operation. (AFP)


Each blow helped eliminate a concrete reminder of the painful and embarrassing chapter in Pakistan's history that the al-Qaida chief's discovery and death in a town not far from the nation's capital represented.

Pakistan was outraged by the covert American raid in Abbottabad because it was not told about it beforehand _ a decision the U.S. explained was driven by concerns that someone in the government might tip off bin Laden.

The terror leader's death was cheered across the globe, but many Pakistanis were angry that the U.S. violated its territory and that its troops were powerless to stop American soldiers from attacking a compound located next to the country's equivalent of West Point, the elite U.S. military academy.

Just as U.S. Navy SEALs waited for the cover of darkness to descend on bin Laden's compound by helicopter from neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistani authorities held off on tearing it down Saturday until the sun had set, said local residents.

They brought in at least three machines equipped with powerful crane-like arms during the afternoon and also set up floodlights that allowed them to begin work at night, said the residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were afraid of being harassed by the government.

A large team of police set up an outer cordon around the compound to keep spectators and journalists away, said an Associated Press reporter who managed to get close enough to see the demolition work under way. A ring of army soldiers set up an inner cordon and warmed themselves against the winter chill by lighting a bonfire.

The bulldozers broke through tall outer boundary walls that ringed a courtyard where one of the U.S. helicopters crashed during the operation to kill bin Laden. They then began to tear down the compound itself.

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

The government did not give advance warning that it planned to tear down the compound.

Residents of the normally sleepy town of Abbottabad were divided on what the government should do with the compound in the aftermath of the raid. Some thought it should be destroyed, but others believed it should be turned into a tourist attraction to help the town earn money. There was always the danger, however, that it could also draw al-Qaida supporters.

American officials said they buried bin Laden's body at sea to avoid giving his followers a burial place that could become a makeshift shrine.

Many U.S. officials expressed disbelief that bin Laden could have lived in Abbottabad for around six years without the Pakistani government knowing. But the U.S. has not found any evidence that senior Pakistani officials knew of the al-Qaida chief's whereabouts.

The raid, which lasted around 40 minutes, was a serious blow to the already troubled U.S.-Pakistan relationship. Pakistan responded by kicking out more than 100 U.S. troops training Pakistanis in counterterrorism operations and reduced the level of intelligence cooperation.

Some members of Congress called on the U.S. to cut of the billions of dollars of military and civilian aid to Pakistan unless Islamabad explained bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad and boosted cooperation on the Afghan war. The aid has continued, although at a somewhat lower level.

Ties between the U.S. and Pakistan have also been strained by American drone strikes targeting Taliban and al-Qaida militants in the country's northwest tribal region near the Afghan border.

A suspected U.S. drone crashed Saturday in the North Waziristan tribal area, the main sanctuary for militants along the border, said Pakistani intelligence officials and local residents.

The unmanned aircraft went down near Mir Ali, one of the main towns in North Waziristan, said the intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The drone caught fire after it hit the ground and was believed to have crashed because of technical problems, they said.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the classified drone program, denied reports that the drone was shot down.

Local resident Nasir Khan said he saw the burning debris from the roof of his home in the Machi Khel area. It was about 500 yards (meters) from his house.

Pakistani officials often criticize drone strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty, but the government is widely believed to have supported the covert CIA-run program in the past. That cooperation has come under strain as the relationship with the U.S. has deteriorated.

The U.S. refuses to speak openly about the program, but officials have said privately that the strikes have killed senior Taliban and al-Qaida commanders. (AP)

<관련 한글 기사>

'테러리스트 성지' 빈 라덴 은신처 헐린다


파키스탄군, 철거 작업 시작
美 무인기 파' 접경지역서 추락


국제테러조직 알 카에다의 지도자 오사마 빈 라덴이 최후를 맞은 파키스탄 내 은신처가 헐렸다.

파키스탄군은 25일(현지시간) 빈 라덴이 사망하기 전 5년간 은신한 것으로 알려 진 북부 아보타바드의 3층짜리 저택을 철거하기 시작했다고 경찰과 목격자들이 전했 다.

경찰 관계자는 "지방 정부와 군이 불도저 등을 투입해 합동으로 철거 작업을 진 행하고 있다"고 말했다.

고위 정부 관리도 빈 라덴의 침실이 있던 3층 부분이 이미 허물어졌다며 "내일 아침 철거가 끝날 것 같다"고 밝혔다.

지난해 5월 미 해군 특수전부대(네이비실)는 블랙호크 등 헬리콥터를 이용해 파 키스탄의 수도 이슬라마바드에서 북쪽으로 100km 떨어진 아보타바드의 은신처를 급습해 빈 라덴을 사살했다.

빈 라덴은 파키스탄 육군사관학교와 불과 2㎞ 떨어진 이 저택에서 3명의 아내와 손자 4명을 포함한 어린이 9명과 함께 지내온 것으로 알려졌다.

당시 미국은 사전에 알리지 않고 파키스탄 영토에서 작전을 수행해 파키스탄 당 국으로부터 '주권 침해'라는 거센 항의를 받았다.

파키스탄도 이번 철거 작업 계획을 미리 공개하지 않은 것으로 전해졌다.

아보타바드 주민들은 비밀리에 진행된 미국의 빈 라덴 사살 작전처럼, 파키스탄 군도 해가 진 뒤에야 철거를 시작했다고 말했다.

저택 주변에는 병력이 배치돼 민간인 접근을 막았으며 언론 취재도 통제했다.

파키스탄이 빈 라덴의 은신처를 철거하는 이유는 아직 밝혀지지 않았다.

한 관리는 "더는 사용하지 않기 때문에 철거를 결정한 것 같다"고 말했고, 다른 관리는 "지역 주민의 안전 문제 등이 이유인 것 같다"고 분석했다.

파키스탄 당국은 빈 라덴이 숨진 이후 은신처 처리 문제를 놓고 고심해왔었다.

일각에서는 미군이 빈 라덴을 사살한 뒤 시신을 아라비아해에 수장시켰기 때문 에 알 카에다 추종자들이 빈 라덴이 마지막까지 은신했던 이 저택을 '성지'로 삼을 수 있다며 허물 것을 주장했다.

반면, 관광객들에게 좋은 볼거리가 될 수 있으므로 관광지로 개발하자는 의견도 있었다. 실제로 이 저택에는 하루에도 수백 명의 관광객이 다녀가고 있다.

한편, 이날 아프가니스탄과 파키스탄의 접경지대인 북와지리스탄에서 미국의 무인항공기(드론)가 추락했다.

파키스탄 관리는 미국의 무인기가 땅에 추락한 뒤 불이 났으며, 기술적 문제로 추락한 것 같다고 말했다.

그러나 파키스탄 탈레반은 자신들이 무인기를 격추했다고 주장했다. 또 격추된 무인기의 잔해를 수거했으며 26일 언론을 통해 관련 사진을 공개하겠다고 밝혔다.

미군 관리는 무인기가 격추됐다는 보도를 부인한 상태다.

미 버락 오바마 행정부는 대(對)테러전의 하나로 아프간 접경지인 파키스탄 북 서부 지역에서 무인기 공격을 집중적으로 수행하고 있다. (연합뉴스)

MOST POPULAR
LATEST NEWS
subscribe
소아쌤