One of the world's most dreaded terrorists, Osama bin Laden, was finally killed by American forces on Sunday. And that too, by a handful of brave men from the US Special Forces - the Navy SEALs. They came in choppers, armed with the latest ammunition, broke through the ceiling of Osama's palatial mansion and shot dead the world's top most terrorist. In about 40 minutes, the SEAL team accomplished what the whole world has been trying to achieve for over a decade - kill Osama bin Laden.
Here's a look at the Navy SEAL 6 - the team that got Osama.
One of the world's most dreaded terrorists, Osama bin Laden, was finally killed by American forces on Sunday. And that too, by a handful of brave men from the US Special Forces - the Navy SEALs. They came in choppers, armed with the latest ammunition, broke through the ceiling of Osama's palatial mansion and shot dead the world's top most terrorist. In about 40 minutes, the SEAL team accomplished what the whole world has been trying to achieve for over a decade - kill Osama bin Laden.
The identities of the about two dozen men who carried out the covert operation will never be known to the public. The men of the elite Navy SEAL 6 are responsible for counter-terrorist operations and who they are and what they do is classified. But here's a look at the team they belong to - Navy SEALs, the men that got Osama.
Made up of only a few hundred forces based in Dam Neck, Virginia, the elite SEAL unit officially known as Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or "DEVGRU," is part of a special operations brotherhood that calls itself "the quiet professionals." (Text: AP)
SEAL Team 6 raided targets outside war zones like Yemen and Somalia in the past three years, though the bulk of the unit's current missions are in Afghanistan. (Text: AP)
The unit is overseen by the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which oversees the US Army's Delta Force and other special units. JSOC's combined forces have been responsible for a quadrupling of counterterrorism raids that have targeted militants in record numbers over the past year in Afghanistan. Some 4,500 elite special operations forces and support units have been part of the surge of US forces there. (Text: AP)
SEAL Team 6 actually works so often with the intelligence agency that it's sometimes called the CIA's Pretorian Guard - a partnership that started in Iraq, as an outgrowth of the fusion of special operations forces and intelligence in the hunt for militants there. (Text: AP)
SEALs and Delta both, commanded by then-JSOC chief General Stanley McChrystal, learned to work much like FBI agents, first attacking a target, killing or capturing the suspects, and then gathering evidence at the scene. (Text: AP)
The battlegrounds of Iraq and Afghanistan had been informally divided, with the SEALs running Afghanistan and the US Army's Delta Force conducting the bulk of the operations in Iraq, though there was overlap of each organization. There is considerable professional rivalry between them. (Text: AP. Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
Other special operations units joke that "SEAL" stands for "Sleep, eat, lift," though the term actually stands for Sea, Air, Land. (Text: AP. Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
The last time the public was made aware of a SEAL raid on Pakistani soil was 2008, when the raiders flew only a mile over the border to the town of Angurada, according to Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive strategic matters. The high-value targets the Americans had been told were there had fled, and those left behind in the compound fought back, resulting in a number of civilian casualties, US and Pakistani officials say, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a classified operation. (Text: AP. Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
The successful bin Laden mission is a much-needed boost for the unit. The SEALs' reputation took a hit within the special operations community after a 2010 rescue mission led to the accidental killing of British hostage Linda Norgrove, held by militants in Afghanistan. One of the SEALs threw a fragmentation grenade at a militant when the team stormed their hideout, not realizing Norgrove was curled on the ground next to the militant, and then lied about throwing the grenade. (Text: AP. Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
Here are some images from the US Navy SEAL-SWCC official site on what goes into making of a SEAL. (Text: AP. Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
(Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
(Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
(Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
(Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
(Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
(Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
(Picture courtesy: US Navy SEAL-SWCC official website)
