Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was unarmed when he was shot at by US commandos in Pakistan but did offer resistance, the White House has said as it tried to correct the official information on this provided earlier.
Initial statements had said Laden was armed and he used his wife as a shield during the raid that killed him at his hideout in Pakistan.
Giving a recap of the events, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on orders of US President Bareck Obama a small American team assaulted a secure compound in an affluent suburb of Islamabad to capture or kill Laden.
"The raid was conducted with US military personnel assaulting on two helicopters. The team methodically cleared the compound, moving from room to room in an operation lasting nearly 40 minutes. They were engaged in a firefight throughout the operation, and Osama bin Laden was killed by the assaulting force," he said.
"In addition to the bin Laden family, two other families resided in the compound: one family on the first floor of the bin Laden building, and one family in a second building. One team began the operation on the first floor of the bin Laden house and worked their way to the third floor. A second team cleared the separate building," Carney said.
"On the first floor of bin Laden's building, two al Qaeda couriers were killed, along with a woman who was killed in crossfire. Bin Laden and his family were found on the second and third floor of the building. There was concern that bin Laden would oppose the capture operation rather, and, indeed, he did resist," he said.
"In the room with bin Laden, a woman rather, bin Laden’s wife, rushed the US assaulter and was shot in the leg but not killed. Bin Laden was then shot and killed. He was not armed.
Following the firefight, the noncombatants were moved to a safe location as the damaged helicopter was detonated. The team departed the scene via helicopter to the USS Carl Vinson in the North Arabian Sea," Carney said.
"Aboard the USS Carl Vinson, the burial of bin Laden was done in conformance with Islamic precepts and practices. The deceased’s body was washed and then placed in a white sheet.
The body was placed in a weighted bag; a military officer read prepared religious remarks, which were translated into Arabic by a native speaker. After the words were complete, the body was placed on a prepared flat board, tipped up, and the deceased body eased into the sea," Carney said.
