Adie Roberts continues his inspirations series to help modellers of all abilities to work out of their comfort zone building dioramas or just trying new builds.

Continued from above 

On May 1, 2011, at 10:30 p.m. local time, the team took off from a U.S. base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Two additional helicopters followed into Pakistan with extra fuel and a backup force.

On May 1, 2011, at 10:30 p.m. local time, the team took off from a U.S. base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Two additional helicopters followed into Pakistan with extra fuel and a backup force. Continued below 

On May 1, 2011, at 10:30 p.m. local time, the team took off from a U.S. base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Two additional helicopters followed into Pakistan with extra fuel and a backup force. Continued below 

Arriving at the compound, one helicopter became unstable, forcing a hard landing inside the compound. The team of SEALs onboard was safe, and the mission continued. 

Inside the compound’s walls, several SEALs approached the guesthouse where one of Osama bin Laden’s couriers lived. The SEALs found the door locked and were preparing to blow it open when they were fired upon through the door. The SEALs returned fire. Soon, the door opened, and a woman came out carrying a child, followed by other children. Beyond her, lying dead, was her husband, Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, bin Laden’s primary courier.

Bullet shrapnel from the firefight lodged in the handle of a pair of bolt cutters one of the SEALs carried in his backpack. 

In the main building, SEALs killed the second courier and his wife on the first floor and bin Laden’s son, Khalid, who was armed, on the second-floor landing. They killed Osama bin Laden in his third-floor bedroom, where he was found with at least one weapon nearby. 

With Osama bin Laden dead, the SEALs collected documents, electronics, and other materials for intelligence exploitation. As a backup helicopter arrived, they blew up the downed helicopter to destroy its stealth technology. Locals gathered outside the compound, and Pakistani authorities began to mobilize a response to the late-night disturbance. After about 45 minutes on the ground, the SEALs boarded the helicopters, taking the collected materials and bin Laden’s body with them. 

In Afghanistan, law enforcement and intelligence officers analyzed bin Laden’s DNA and took his fingerprints. Facial recognition analysis and biometric information ultimately confirmed his identity.

American forces then flew bin Laden’s body to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea. After religious funeral rites, Osama bin Laden was buried at sea so his gravesite would not become a shrine for his followers.