On May 2, 2011, a team of U.S. Navy SEALs conducted a raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, resulting in the death of Osama bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. The operation, codenamed Operation Neptune Spear, was the culmination of a years-long intelligence effort by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The CIA had been tracking bin Laden's movements for several months, and had identified the compound as his likely hideout. The raid was executed by a team of 24 SEALs, who assaulted the compound by helicopter and killed bin Laden in a firefight. The operation was a major success for the CIA and the U.S. government, and was seen as a significant blow to al-Qaeda.
