CIA says Bin Laden nearly escaped before 2011 US operation

WASHINGTON: A new account by the Central Intelligence Agency reveals that Osama bin Laden had planned to leave his Abbottabad hideout months before the 2011 US raid that killed him.

According to newly released documents, Bin Laden had agreed in writing to relocate after pressure from the two brothers who had sheltered him for years. In letters dated January 14 and February 2, 2011, he acknowledged their exhaustion and confirmed plans to shift to a new location by September that year.

The CIA said US intelligence was unaware of the relocation plan at the time and believed the situation inside the compound to be stable. It noted that any delay in the operation could have led to a different outcome.

The documents also dismiss claims that Bin Laden had become merely symbolic, stating that he remained actively involved in directing al-Qaeda’s strategy, operations and communications while in hiding.

The operation followed years of intelligence work after the September 11 attacks, including tracking a trusted courier that eventually led analysts to a high-security compound in Abbottabad in 2010.

The compound’s unusual features — including high walls, no visible communication links and the burning of waste — raised suspicions that it was being used to conceal Bin Laden.

The raid was authorised by then US president Barack Obama and carried out in the early hours of May 2, 2011. Despite a helicopter crash, US forces completed the mission and killed Bin Laden within minutes.

A large cache of documents and digital material recovered from the site later provided key insights into al-Qaeda’s operations.

The CIA described the mission as a major milestone in the campaign against al-Qaeda, attributing its success to years of coordinated intelligence and operational planning.