Osama Bin Laden’s Hideout Near Pakistan Army Base: 5 Shocking Revelations from New Docu-Series

Global attention has again descended upon India and Pakistan when after Indian military strikes on terrorist locations in Pakistani territory under Operation Sindoor on 7 May, the latter undertook missile and drone strikes in retaliation on India.

In an increasingly furious geopolitical spotlight, the Netflix docuseries ‘American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden’ has further intrigued people, keeping in limelight one of the most infamous incidents in Pakistan's history: the last hideaway of the 9/11 mastermind and founder of the terrorist outfit al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden. Its renewed emphasis gets additional relevance in present-day affairs following the discoveries on investigations related to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which have led to terrorist links coming from terror outfits operating out of Pakistan.

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Osama bin Laden's last hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, was very suspicious as it was quite urban yet strategically hidden away, thereby leading to suspicion over potential CIA presence of the 9/11 mastermind.

Despite the lack of credible evidence, sporadic individual leads indicating the presence of Osama bin Laden within the very secured Abbottabad compound finally made then-US President Barack Obama give his sanction to the final operation to capture the al-Qaeda chief.

About 1.3 kilometers away from the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, one may think that the compound's close proximity to a major military training facility certainly raised questions about general awareness regarding its inhabitants. It seems to have been mistakenly thought of as being in a secluded area, whereas it was rather within a well-populated urban cluster. This alone may have well contributed to it remaining undetected for so many years.

The CIA's finding, brought forth in their docuseries, stated that the compound was at first found to contain two families-one being of Abu Ahmed-almost certainly the 'courier' for the founder of al-Qaeda and a significant operative. Later on, when surveillance was put on the compound, a third family was discovered who never stepped out; this added to the suspicion of the CIA. According to web data, the compound was built between 2003 and 2005 with a third floor being added sometime later as a residence for Osama bin Laden.

With just a few windows, the compound had surrounding walls about 12-18 feet high, topped with barbed wire, two security gates, and no telephone or internet connections. Trash was burned inside so as not to be detected, and satellite dishes were installed for limited communication, the docuseries showed.

Abu Ahmed apparently even took the batteries out of his mobile phone unless he was "well away from Abbottabad."

The CIA had placed cameras around the compound in its search for irrefutable evidence. They even sent a physician to the house to give polio vaccinations and take blood samples, hoping to use that evidence to prove it was bin Laden's family. But none of it panned out. As time passed, the CIA had begun tracking women and children going in and out of the compound.

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While the exterior of bin Laden's compound was certainly fortified, the interior was reported as being quite humble, with foam mattresses to sleep on and little air conditioning. The reports also indicated there were possessions with Western influences too, such as branded medications, and Disney movies, per a report by history.com. Peter Bergen with CNN, who visited the compound, shared that there were medications and hair dye in bin Laden's room that supported those claims.

Once, CIA surveillance had the scenario of an individual who would come out of the house and walked in a circle - "like a prisoner in a prison yard", every day, the CIA called this subject the 'pacer'. Using a method called, 'mensuration', in which you can ascertain an object height from the direction of the sun's rays and the shadow it casts, the CIA found the height of the shadow was approximately the height of Osama bin Laden.

United States Navy SEAL Team 6 conducted the raid on 2 May 2011, resulting in the death of Osama bin Laden and bringing his body along. Later on, they buried the body in the Indian Ocean. The United States chose to bury the body at sea because they feared that if he was buried on land, his grave might become a shrine for his followers, which may consequently result in instability.

The Pakistani government demolished the compound in February 2012. The demolition was carried out so as to prevent the site from becoming a shrine for supporters and to erase any remaining evidence which may bring unwelcome attention.

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