live-tweets - CIA re-creates Osama bin Laden killing in Abbottabad

Using the hashtag #UBLRaid, the CIA blasted out updates of the May 2011 strike as if it was unfolding in real time -- in a highly unusual move for the secretive spy agency.

Join us beginning at 1:25 p.m. EDT today as we tweet the #UBLRaid as if it were happening today. pic.twitter.com/x8EBpW571f

— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016

"To mark the 5th anniversary of the Usama Bin Ladin operation in Abbottabad we will tweet the raid as if it were happening today. ," @CIA said in announcing its social media blitz.

Success of mission was culmination of years of complex, thorough & highly advanced intel ops & analyses led by CIA w support of IC.#UBLRaid

— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016

Features
High walls/barbed wire
Double entry gates
No internet/phone connection
Trash burned not collected#UBLRaid pic.twitter.com/KyPIFPxA4d

— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016

Tweets included the now famous picture of President Barack Obama and other high-ranking US officials watching matters unfold from the White House's Situation Room.


"1:51 pm EDT - Helicopters depart from Afghanistan for compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan ," read one tweet.


"3:30 pm EDT - 2 helicopters descend on compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. 1 crashes, but assault continues without delay or injury ," read another.


That was followed just minutes later by: "3:39 pm EDT - Usama Bin Ladin found on third floor and killed ."


The CIA's Twitter move got quite a bit of attention, with not everyone enthused.


"@CIA Are we tweeting Hiroshima on August 6th too? Or is THAT in bad taste?" tweeted one user, Kris Knight.


Another who identies as Amber V tweeted: "Don't you have better things to do, like catch living and breathing bad guys, or secretly invade our privacy, or something? "


But others reacted positively.


"Watching the relive on Twitter the today reminds me of how proud I am of the men and women who do what they do. Thank you," tweeted Toby Knapp.


- CIA focus on al-Baghdadi -

With 1.33 million Twitter followers, the Central Intelligence Agency has sent 1,662 tweets since it joined the social media service in February 2014.

"We are the Nation's first line of defense. We accomplish what others cannot accomplish and go where others cannot go," reads the Twitter bio.


Previous @CIA tweets in recent days have featured a video about the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine and a counterfeit Nazi stamp.

Amid the tweetstorm, CIA chief John Brennan said Sunday that taking out the head of the Islamic State group would have a "great impact."

He also warned that Al-Qaeda remained a threat, and that IS was not just an organization but a phenomenon.

"We have destroyed a large part of Al-Qaeda. It's not completely eliminated. So we have to stay focused on what it can do," Brennan told NBC's "Meet the Press" talk show.

"Now, with the new phenomenon of (IS), this is going to challenge us for years to come," he added.

Asked if removing IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi from action was as important as the Bin Laden get, Brennan, who does not often do interviews, was direct.

"If we got Baghdadi, I think it would have a great impact on the organization. And it will be felt by them," he said.

Timeline of the Raid

May 1 - EDT

1:25 p.m. EDT —President Obama, DCIA Panetta, and JSOC commander Admiral McRaven approve execution of the operation.

1:51 p.m. EDT — Helicopters depart from Afghanistan.

3:30 p.m. EDT — Two helicopters descend on the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan (north of Islamabad). One crashes, but the assault continues without delay or injury.

3:32 p.m. EDT — President Obama, in the Situation Room, receives up to the minute reports on the situation on the ground in Abbottabad.

3:39 p.m. EDT — Usama Bin Ladin is found on third floor and killed.

3:53 p.m. EDT — President Obama receives tentative confirmation of positive identification of Bin Ladin.

3:55 p.m. EDT —Bin Ladin’s body is moved to the first floor and placed in a body bag.

3:39 p.m. – 4:10 p.m. EDT – Assault Team retrieves a large quantity of materials from the compound for intelligence analysis.

4:05 p.m. EDT – First helicopter leaves the area.

4:08 p.m. EDT —Assault Team destroys the crashed helicopter.

4:10 p.m. EDT —Backup helicopter picks up remaining team members and materials and leaves Abbottabad.

5:53 p.m. EDT — Helicopters return to Afghanistan where Admiral McRaven greets the team.

7:01 p.m. EDT — President Obama receives confirmations of high probability of positive identification of Bin Ladin.

11:35 p.m. EDT — President Obama speaks to the nation from the East Room.

May 2 - EDT

12:59 a.m. EDT — Bin Ladin’s body is buried at sea from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the north Arabian Sea.