OSAMA Bin Laden was the most wanted terrorist in history, but it took almost a decade for US intelligence services to track him down.
Featuring rare footage and interviews with CIA insiders, the astonishing hunt for the Al-Qaeda leader is retraced in Netflix’s new documentary American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden.
Who killed Osama bin Laden?
Bin Laden was shot in the head in front of his screaming wife during a dramatic raid by U.S. Special Forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The Al-Qaeda leader — who was responsible for the September 11 attacks — met his end at the hands of the U.S. military on May 2, 2011.
The 54-year-old bearded killer was gunned down by Navy Seal Team 6 — an elite unit known for its ruthlessness and bravery — in what was dubbed Operation Geronimo.
Seal Robert O’Neill claimed to have fired the killing shot on the terror kingpin, who had been taken off guard at his Pakistan hideout.
Who is Robert O’Neill?
Robert O’Neill, a former member of the elite U.S. Navy Seals, was part of a small team sent into Pakistan to kill the 9/11 mastermind in 2011.
Speaking to Piers Morgan on British TV in 2017, he said it took a while for it to sink in that he had just killed the most wanted man in the world, ending a decade-long global manhunt.
He said: “Then it kind of hit me a little bit. And one of my guys said, ‘Hey are you okay?’ and I said, ‘Yeah what do we do now?’
“He said ‘Now we find the computers, we’ve done this hundreds of times.’
“And I said, ‘Yeah right I’m back’ and he said, ‘Yeah man you just killed Bin Laden, your life just changed.'”
In August 2020, O’Neill hit the headlines again — this time for sharing his very straightforward opinion on wearing a mask.
He tweeted that he’s “not a p***y” in the caption to a picture showing him without a mask on board an airplane.
The tweet was later deleted, with O’Neill claiming it was his wife who deleted it.
In October 2020, he slammed President Donald Trump for sharing a tweet linking to the false claim that it was a body double of the al-Qaeda leader who was killed.
O’Neill hit back at Trump, tweeting: “Very brave men said goodbye to their kids to go kill Osama bin Laden.
“We were given the order by President Obama.
“It was not a body double. Thank you Mr. President. Happy birthday @USNavy.”
Why was Osama buried at sea?
Bin Laden’s body was given an “Islamic burial” and buried at sea.
Islamic tradition requires the dead to be buried as soon as possible unless an autopsy is required.
According to AlJazeera, U.S. officials confirmed traditional procedures were followed.
The body was washed and placed in a white sheet and then in a weighted bag.
After the reading of religious remarks, the body was placed on a board and thrown into the sea.
Why was Robert J O’Neill arrested?
Per the New York Post, The Dallas Morning News reported that 47-year-old O’Neill was arrested in Texas on Wednesday, August 23, 2023.
He was hit with a “Class A misdemeanor charge of assault causing bodily injury and a Class C misdemeanor charge of public intoxication.”
However, prison records reportedly only listed the assault charge.
That same day, O’Neill was released from jail on a $3,500 bond.
On Friday, August 25, Frisco police would not release further information on the arrest.
He later filed a suit saying the allegations were fabricated.
American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden
Netflix has released a new three-part documentary providing an in-depth look at the extensive global manhunt for Bin Laden.
It covers the intelligence efforts starting from the Clinton era, right through to the operation that killed the Al-Qaeda leader in 2011.
With rare footage and interviews with CIA insiders, special forces operatives and key government officials, the doc reconstructs the events leading up to 9/11, the subsequent military and intelligence strategies, as well as the final raid on Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden dropped on Netflix May 14, 2025.
