Osama bin Laden, the glowering mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed thousands of Americans, was killed in an operation led by the United States, President Barack Obama said Sunday.
A small team of Americans carried out the attack and took custody of bin Laden's remains, the president said in a dramatic late-night statement at the White House.
A jubilant crowd gathered outside the White House as word spread of bin Laden's death after a global manhunt that lasted nearly a decade.
"Justice has been done," the president said.
Ohio University immediately took to the streets to celebrate the announcement. Students on Mill Street began chanting "USA! USA!" Meanwhile, the typically bustling Uptown bars fell dead silent as patrons watched Obama address the nation.
“At least the job is finally done,” declared Nick Hesse, an OU senior studying political science.
Just moments after the celebration began, fireworks could be seen in Athens' residential neighborhoods. Other students took to the streets — waving flags, singing the national anthem and chanting.
“The first thing we did was put up our American flag and play our American songs,” explained Jason Murdoch, an OU senior studying exercise physiology, as he celebrated on Mill Street.
Athens Police acknowledged the celebrations elevated the level of noise and traffic uptown from a normal Sunday night, but added that there were no major issues related to the announcement.
"The crowd uptown isn't much bigger than it is uptown on most Sundays," said APD Lt. Ralph Harvey. “(The crowds) are a little boisterous, but other than that, they're not causing any problems.”
The development comes just months before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Centers and Pentagon, orchestrated by bin Laden's al-Qaida organization, that killed more than 3,000 people.
The attacks set off a chain of events that led the United States into wars in Afghanistan, and then Iraq, and America's entire intelligence apparatus was overhauled to counter the threat of more terror attacks at home.
Al-Qaida organization was also blamed for the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa that killed 231 people and the 2000 attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 American sailors in Yemen, as well as countless other plots, some successful and some foiled.
A senior administration official said Obama gave the final order for U.S. officials to go after bin Laden on Friday. The official added that a small team found their quarry hiding in a large home in an affluent suburb of Islamabad. The raid occurred in the early morning hours Sunday.
Obama spoke with Bush and former President Bill Clinton Sunday night to inform them of the developments.
The attacks a decade ago seemed to come out of nowhere, even though al-Qaida had previously damaged American targets overseas.
The terrorists hijacked planes, flew one of them into one of Manhattan's Twin Towers — and, moments later, into the other one. Both buildings collapsed, trapping thousands inside and claiming the lives of firefighters and others who had rushed to help them.
A third plane slammed into the Pentagon, defacing the symbol of America's military night. A fourth crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers overpowered the hijackers and forced it down — before it could hit its intended target in Washington.
Obama struck a less than boastful tone in his brief announcement, although he said the death of bin Laden was "the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al-Qaida.
"His death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubt that al-Qaida will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant," he added.
Moments after he spoke, American officials cautioned that the events could lead to heightened threats against the United States.
“I don’t want to think about (the repercussions) right now,” said John Bruno, an OU sophomore studying civil engineering, as he celebrated on Court Street. “I just want to think we got him.”
The Associated Press, Ryan Dunn and Adam Wagner contributed to this report.
