Death of Osama Bin Laden - Operation Neptune Spear

Operation Neptune Spear
Part of the War on Terror
Abbottabad Islamabad Jalalabad Bagram North Arabian Sea
Map of Pakistan. Abbottabad is 34 miles (55 km) from the capital Islamabad, 167 miles (269 km) from Jalalabad Airfield, and 232 miles (373 km) from Bagram Airfield. Bagram is about 850 miles (1,370 km) from the North Arabian Sea.
(Straight line distances. Travel distances significantly more.)
Date May 1–2, 2011
Location Osama bin Laden's hideout compound, Abbottabad, Pakistan
34°10′9″N 73°14′33″E / 34.16917°N 73.2425°E / 34.16917; 73.2425
Result Osama bin Laden killed
Belligerents
United States al-Qaeda Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
Barack Obama
William H. McRaven
Osama bin Laden (†)

Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti (†)

n/a
Strength
79 Commandos
6 helicopters
1 Belgian Malinois (military working dog)
22 (number of residents, including children) unknown
Casualties and losses
1 helicopter lost due to malfunction 5 killed
17 captured (1 injured)
n/a

The official mission code name was Operation Neptune Spear. Neptune's spear is the trident, which appears on Navy Special Warfare insignia, with the three prongs of the trident representing the operational capacity of SEALs on sea, air and land.

Read more about this topic:  Death Of Osama Bin Laden

Famous quotes containing the words operation, neptune and/or spear:

    It requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding. The only idea of wit, or rather that inferior variety of the electric talent which prevails occasionally in the North, and which, under the name of “Wut,” is so infinitely distressing to people of good taste, is laughing immoderately at stated intervals.
    Sydney Smith (1771–1845)

    But we are spirits of another sort.
    I with the morning’s love have oft made sport,
    And like a forester the groves may tread
    Even till the eastern gate, all fiery-red,
    Opening on Neptune with fair blessèd beams,
    Turns unto yellow gold his salt green streams.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    It is easy to dodge a spear in the daylight, but it is difficult to avoid an arrow in the dark.
    Chinese proverb.