Newly-released photographs show tense hours in the White House during raid that killed Osama bin Laden
Newly-released US government photographs show key moments inside the White House during the 2011 raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.
The images show top officials shaking hands after learning bin Laden, who founded al Qaeda and masterminded the 9/11 attacks, was shot dead by a team of US Navy SEALS. They also show President Barack Obama calling other world leaders to tell them what had happened.
The photographs have been obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request submitted to the Obama Presidential Library by The Washington Post.
The US news service obtained more than 900 photos taken by official White House images on 1 May 2011.
Barack Obama, top/centre, is joined by members of his national security team including then vice president Joe Biden, top left, and secretary of state Hillary Clinton, 3rd from right, before the raid began. Pic: Obama Presidential Library
At around 4pm, Mr Obama was in the Situation Room conference room with his national security team when he heard the voice of Admiral William McRaven, who was commanding the operation from Afghanistan.
The president saw a live video feed of the raid in a smaller anteroom and said “I need to watch this” before leaving the conference room.
Air Force Brigadier General Brad Webb offered him his seat in the anteroom but Mr Obama said “sit down” and pulled up a hardback chair.
Mr Obama with Air Force Brigadier General Brad Webb in the anteroom. Pic: Obama Presidential Library
Mr Obama’s national security team soon squeezed into the room with him to watch the live video feed.
Pic: Obama Presidential Library
Minutes later Mr Obama and his team were told “Geronimo ID’d… Geronimo EKIA”.
Geronimo was the codename for bin Laden while “EKIA” stands for “enemy killed in action”.
After hearing those words, Mr Obama said: “We got him.”
The CIA and US military were later criticised for using the name of an Apache leader as a codename for the 9/11 mastermind.
Mr Obama shakes hands with his team, including then secretary of state Hillary Clinton, before leaving the anteroom. Pic: Obama Presidential Library
The national security team later reconvened in the Situation Room conference room, where Admiral McRaven told them he was looking at the body and it appeared to be bin Laden.
He asked a SEAL who was 6ft 2ins to lie next to the body to confirm it matched the Al Qaeda leader’s height of 6ft 4ins.
Mr Obama replied: “Seriously, Bill. … All that planning and you couldn’t bring a tape measure?”
Pic: Obama Presidential Library
President Obama, who decided he would make the announcement of bin Laden’s death that night, then headed back to the White House to prepare for his speech.
Pic: Obama Presidential Library
Mr Obama phoned former presidents George W Bush and Bill Clinton to tell them of the raid’s success.
He also called British prime minister David Cameron and Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari.
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Mr Obama speaks on the phone while his team makes last-minute changes to his speech
At around 10.30pm local time that night, White House staff were making changes to the president’s remarks before his televised speech just over an hour later.
The president had reportedly said he wanted to strike an optimistic tone about how if “America actually sticks to something” it can “do really big things”.
Pic: Obama Presidential Library
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen and vice president Joe Biden, who is now president of the United States, posed with rosary rings they had on their fingers during the raid.
Mr Obama with Admiral Mike Mullen and then vice president Joe Biden. Pic: Obama Presidential Library
At around 11.42pm local time, Mr Obama gave a televised address which was broadcast all the world.
He began by saying: “Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world, the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children.”
Pic: Obama Presidential Library
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
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Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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