Al Qaeda leader Bin Laden dead – US officials

Osama bin Laden is dead and his body has been recovered by U.S. authorities, U.S. officials said on Sunday night.

U.S. President Barack Obama was to make the announcement shortly that after searching in vain for bin Laden since he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2001, the Saudi-born extremist is dead.

It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team, having fulfilled the goal once voiced by Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, to bring to justice the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.