It has been five years since the Navy's SEAL Team Six conducted a successful raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, killing the Al Qaeda founder.
On Sunday, starting at 1:25 p.m. EDT, the CIA marked the anniversary by tweeting out the timeline of the raid, giving social media readers a real-time re-creation of the mission.
This news was also announced on the CIA's Facebook page.
The CIA's re-creation began on the afternoon of May 1, at 1:25 p.m. EDT or 10:25 p.m. in Pakistan with the formal approval of the operation.
1:25 pm EDT-@POTUS, DCIA Panetta, & JSOC commander Admiral McRaven approve execution of op in Abbottabad.#UBLRaid pic.twitter.com/YhvuJVrMVc
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
1:51 pm EDT - Helicopters depart from Afghanistan for compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
After midnight in Abbottabad, Pakistan, two U.S. military helicopters arrived at bin Laden's compound.
3:30 pm EDT - 2 helicopters descend on compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. 1 crashes, but assault continues without delay or injury#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA)May 1, 2016
3:30 pm EDT - @POTUS watches situation on ground in Abbottabad live in Situation Room#UBLRaid pic.twitter.com/59KPF7eUTr
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
3:39 pm EDT - Usama Bin Ladin found on third floor and killed#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
3:39 pm – 4:10 pm EDT – Team retrieves large quantity of materials from compound for intel analysis#UBLRaidhttps://t.co/yl1FjRA0qk
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
3:53 pm EDT - @POTUS receives tentative confirmation of positive identification of Usama Bin Ladin#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
Following the confirmation of bin Laden's death, the operation began exiting the compound.
4:05 pm EDT - First helicopter leaves the area to go back to Afghanistan#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
4:08 pm EDT - Assault Team destroys crashed helicopter#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
4:10 pm EDT — Backup helicopter picks up remaining team members & materials & leaves Abbottabad#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
5:53 pm EDT - Helicopters return to Afghanistan where Admiral McRaven greets team#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
7:01 pm EDT - @POTUS receives confirmation of high probability of positive identification of Usama Bin Ladin#UBLRaid
— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016
President Obama received the official word of bin Laden's death just after 7 p.m. About four and a half hours later, Obama addressed the nation, announcing the news.
Not everyone was pleased with the CIA's re-living the successful mission to kill bin Laden.
Honk if you ever believed for a moment the #UBLRaid story.
— Lionel (@LionelMedia) May 2, 2016
I get @CIA desire to take victory lap but tweeting #UBLRaid seems contrary to Intel Community ethos & good judgment https://t.co/QJ2hnMQs7j
— Phillip Carter (@Carter_PE) May 1, 2016
Erm... What? Why?! Demonstrating some seriously poor taste & judgement there, @CIA. #UBLraid https://t.co/R027WcAzZh
— Samantha Gouldson (@SamGouldson) May 1, 2016
For those without Twitter, the agency also posted a simple timeline on its website.
Timeline of the RaidMay 1 - EDT
1:25 p.m. EDT —President Obama, DCIA Panetta, and JSOC commander Admiral McRaven approve execution of the operation.
1:51 p.m. EDT — Helicopters depart from Afghanistan.
3:30 p.m. EDT — Two helicopters descend on the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan (north of Islamabad). One crashes, but the assault continues without delay or injury.
3:32 p.m. EDT — President Obama, in the Situation Room, receives up to the minute reports on the situation on the ground in Abbottabad.
3:39 p.m. EDT — Usama Bin Ladin is found on third floor and killed.
3:53 p.m. EDT — President Obama receives tentative confirmation of positive identification of Bin Ladin.
3:55 p.m. EDT —Bin Ladin’s body is moved to the first floor and placed in a body bag.
3:39 p.m. – 4:10 p.m. EDT – Assault Team retrieves a large quantity of materials from the compound for intelligence analysis.
4:05 p.m. EDT – First helicopter leaves the area.
4:08 p.m. EDT —Assault Team destroys the crashed helicopter.
4:10 p.m. EDT —Backup helicopter picks up remaining team members and materials and leaves Abbottabad.
5:53 p.m. EDT — Helicopters return to Afghanistan where Admiral McRaven greets the team.
7:01 p.m. EDT — President Obama receives confirmations of high probability of positive identification of Bin Ladin.
11:35 p.m. EDT — President Obama speaks to the nation from the East Room.
May 2 - EDT
12:59 a.m. EDT — Bin Ladin’s body is buried at sea from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the north Arabian Sea.
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