Pakistan on Saturday began demolishing the three-story compound
where Osama bin Laden lived for years and was killed by U.S. commandos
last May, eliminating a concrete reminder of the painful and
embarrassing chapter in the country's history.
Pakistan was
outraged by the covert American raid because it was not told about it
beforehand. The country's powerful military faced rare domestic
criticism because it was not able to stop U.S. troops from infiltrating
the country by helicopter from Afghanistan under the cover of darkness.
The compound was located next to Pakistan's equivalent of West Point,
the elite U.S. military academy.
Three mechanized backhoes began
demolishing the compound in the northwest town of Abbottabad after
sunset on Saturday, said two local residents, speaking on condition of
anonymity because they were afraid of being harassed by the government.
Authorities set up floodlights so they could work after dark, the residents said.
The
demolition team conducted its work under heavy security. A large team
of police set up an outer cordon around the compound to keep spectators
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 backhoes broke through tall outer boundary walls
that ringed a courtyard where one of the U.S. helicopters crashed during
the operation to kill the al-Qaida chief. 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.
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 the al-Qaida chief's whereabouts.
The U.S. did not
give Pakistan advance warning of the raid, which lasted about 40
minutes, because it was worried someone in the country's military or
shadowy intelligence agency would tip off bin Laden.
The operation
was a serious blow to the already troubled U.S.-Pakistan relationship.
Pakistan responded to the raid by kicking out more than 100 U.S. troops
training Pakistanis in counterterrorism operations and reduced the level
of intelligence cooperation.
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.
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
