U.S. Raid That Killed Osama bin Laden Recalled 15 Years Later

U.S. forces conducted the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. PBS NewsHour aired a segment on the anniversary that continued last week's conversation with Mark Kelton, who was the CIA's station chief in Pakistan at the time of the operation. The program focused on the planning and execution of the raid as well as its immediate effects.

Nick Schifrin, PBS NewsHour’s foreign affairs and defense correspondent, moderated the discussion as host of Compass Points.

The raid took place in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011. S. Navy SEALs carried out the operation after years of intelligence work that located bin Laden at a compound near a Pakistani military academy. Mark Kelton participated in the segment as the senior CIA officer in Pakistan during the period leading up to and following the raid. S. agencies and the challenges of operating in the region.

The conversation addressed aspects of the intelligence gathering, the decision to launch the raid, and the diplomatic consequences that followed. Relations between the United States and Pakistan were strained after the operation became public. PBS NewsHour reported that the segment built on prior coverage from the previous week.

The program included contributions from producers Dan Sagalyn, Satvi Sunkara, Zeba Warsi and others on the foreign affairs team. The anniversary coverage examined how the raid affected counterterrorism efforts and the pursuit of al-Qaida leadership in the years that followed.

Bin Laden had been the subject of an extensive manhunt since the September 11, 2001 attacks.