An old photo of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden used his wife as a human shield in a last desperate attempt to save his own life before he was gunned down by US special forces in his hideout in Pakistan.
Armed with an automatic weapon, the al-Qaeda leader's last act was to force his young bride to sacrifice her life as he tried to fire back at the US Navy Seals storming the compound.
Bin Laden was killed with a single shot to the head after being tracked down to a million-dollar compound just 35 miles from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, where he is thought to have been living for six years.
The extraordinary details of his last stand were disclosed by the White House as the 13-year hunt for the world's most wanted man finally reached its bloody end.
President Barack Obama, watching the raid in real time, turned to his advisers after the most significant moment in the war on terror, and said: "We got him."
Far from living in a cave or a tunnel, the terrorist mastermind had been "hiding in plain view" less than a mile from Pakistan's main military academy in Abbottabad.
The 54 year-old, whose body was identified using DNA and facial recognition techniques, was buried at sea to avoid any danger of his grave becoming a shrine.
News of bin Laden's death, conveyed on live television by Mr Obama at 4.30am British time yesterday, prompted scenes of wild celebration on the streets of New York, the city where al-Qaeda's worst atrocity took place, and throughout America.
The death of bin Laden meant the world was "a safer place", President Obama said last night. Earlier, the White House described it as a "defining moment in the war against al-Qaeda".
基地组织头目奥萨马•本•拉登近日在其藏身地被美军特种部队击毙，而在垂死反抗时，为了保住自身性命，拉登用自己的妻子做最后一道“人盾”。
当时，美国海豹突击队正对其隐藏的院子进行袭击，拉登武装有自动武器，但他的最后一招竟然是强迫自己年轻的妻子牺牲性命做人盾，自己则躲在她身后试图反击。
拉登最终头部中弹身亡。据称，他已经在距离巴基斯坦首都伊斯兰堡35英里的这处院子里生活了六年。这座院子造价超过百万美元。
白宫随后公布了拉登“背水一战”的非同寻常的细节。至此，对全球最重要通缉犯长达13年的追捕终于以拉登之死告终。
美国总统奥巴马实时观看了这次突袭。在拉登遇袭后，他转身对顾问说：“我们抓住他了！”这次袭击堪称反恐战争中最重要的时刻。
恐怖组织头目拉登既没有住在洞穴中，也没有躲在地道里，他的藏身之处其实“非常明显”，距离巴基斯坦阿伯塔巴德一所重要军事院校还不到一英里。
拉登现年54岁，他的尸体在通过DNA检验和面部识别技术确认身份后被葬入大海。这样做是为了防止拉登的坟墓成为恐怖分子的圣地。
英国时间昨天凌晨4点半，奥巴马通过电视直播发表了拉登被击毙的消息，随后纽约和全美各地的人们涌上街头狂欢庆祝。拉登发动的9•11恐怖袭击正是发生在纽约。
奥巴马昨晚说，拉登之死意味着全世界“更安全了”。早先，白宫称拉登被击毙是“打击基地组织战争中的决定性时刻”。
human shield: a person or group of people located or intentionally placed in a potential line of fire or in an area likely to be attacked（人盾）
last stand: 垂死挣扎，背水一战
mastermind: a person who originates or is primarily responsible for the execution of a particular idea, project, or the like（策划者，操纵者）
atrocity: behaviour or an action that is wicked or ruthless（暴行）