Global General

Factbox: 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-02 16:32

Challenging the might of the "infidel" United States, Osama bin Laden masterminded the deadliest militant attacks in history and then built a global network of allies to wage a "holy war" intended to outlive him. Live report

The man behind the suicide hijack attacks of Sept 11, 2001, and who US officials said late on Sunday was dead, was the nemesis of former President George W. Bush, who pledged to take him "dead or alive" and whose two terms were dominated by a "war on terror" against his al-Qaida network.

Bin Laden also assailed Bush's successor, Barack Obama, dismissing a new beginning with Muslims he offered in a 2009 speech as sowing "seeds for hatred and revenge against America".

Widely assumed to be hiding in Pakistan - whether in a mountain cave or a bustling city - bin Laden was believed to be largely bereft of operational control, under threat from US drone strikes and struggling with disenchantment among former supporters alienated by suicide attacks in Iraq in 2004-06.

But even as political and security pressures grew on him in 2009-2010, the Saudi-born militant appeared to hit upon a strategy of smaller, more easily-organised attacks, carried out by globally-scattered hubs of sympathisers and affiliate groups.

Al-Qaida sprouted new offshoots in Yemen, Iraq and North Africa and directed or inspired attacks from Bali to Britain to the United States, where a Nigerian Islamist made a botched attempt to down an airliner over Detroit on Dec 25, 2009.

While remaining the potent figurehead of al-Qaida, bin Laden turned its core leadership from an organisation that executed complex team-based attacks into a propaganda hub that cultivated affiliated groups to organise and strike on their own.

President George W. Bush's eyes well up with tears while speaking in the Oval Office of the White House in this Sept 13, 2001 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

With his long grey beard and wistful expression, bin Laden became one of the most instantly recognisable people on the planet, his gaunt face staring out from propaganda videos and framed on a US website offering a $25 million bounty.

Officials say US authorities have recovered bin Laden's body, ending the largest manhunt in history involving thousands of US troops in Afghanistan and tens of thousands of Pakistani soldiers in the rugged mountains along the border.

Whether reviled as a terrorist and mass murderer or hailed as the champion of oppressed Muslims fighting injustice and humiliation, bin Laden changed the course of history.