Killing of Osama bin Laden

On May 2, 2011, the United States conducted Operation Neptune Spear, in which SEAL Team Six shot and killed Osama bin Laden at his "Waziristan Haveli" in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden, who founded al-Qaeda and orchestrated the September 11 attacks, had been the subject of a United States military manhunt since the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, but escaped to Pakistan-allegedly with Pakistani support-during or after the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001. The mission was part of an effort led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), with the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) coordinating the special mission units involved in the raid. In addition to SEAL Team Six, participating units under JSOC included the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) and the CIA's Special Activities Division, which recruits heavily from among former JSOC Special Mission Units.