Bin Laden’s Compound in Pakistan Demolished

A compound near the Pakistani town of Abbottabad where Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces last year was demolished by Pakistani authorities on Saturday, regional media reported. Mechanized backhoes and cranes were moved to the three-storey compound, located some 700 meters from the elite Pakistan Military Academy, Pakistan's equivalent of West Point, late on Saturday afternoon, the Press Trust of India quoted local residents as saying. The demolition began at around 9 pm local time (16:00 GMT). All roads leading to the compound have been closed and security in the area has been strengthened, the report said. Al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden, who was behind the 9/11 attacks against the United States, was killed in a raid by U.S. Navy Seals on his compound in May 2011. The unauthorized raid by U.S. forces on Pakistan’s territory sparked an angry reaction from Islamabad, which was in turn accused by some U.S. officials and media outlets of harboring the world's most-wanted terrorist, Pakistan has dismissed the allegations. The Pakistani military had taken control of the compound shortly after the al-Qaeda chief was killed, the Press Trust of India said in its report.