Mark Owen Talks About Bin Laden Raid Book On ’60 Minutes’ [Video]

Mark Owen, the former Navy Seal who penned a first hand account about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, appeared on 60 Minutes to talk about the controversy surrounding his book and to unveil a few additional details about Navy SEALs Team Six.

Owen has been under fire for unveiling top secret information in his bookNo Easy Day. During the interview, Owen, whose real name is Matt Bissonnette, had his voice altered and his appearance covered in shadows. Owen said that he was protecting identity from a possible Al-Qaeda retaliation.

Owen said: “You know, the enemy has a long memory.”

Here are some of the details that Owen revealed about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden.

1.) A female CIA analyst was integral to tracking down Bin Laden.

“I can’t give her enough credit. I mean, she, in my opinion, she kind of teed up this whole thing. And is just, you know, wicked smart, kind of feisty.”

2.) The SEALs didn’t immediately recognize Bin Laden when they shot him.

“You know, everybody thinks it was, like, you know it’s him. No. To us, at that time, it could have been anybody. Maybe this was another brother. Maybe this is a bodyguard. Maybe, it doesn’t matter. The point is to just continue clearing.”

3.) The body of Bin Laden was identified by a little girl.

“So he moved out to where the women and kids were, grabs one of the younger kids. Says, “Hey, who is that inside?” She says, “Osama.” “Osama who?” “Osama bin Laden.”

4.) Owen captured a photo of Bin Laden after he had been killed.

“I figured these were the– probably some of the most important photos I’d ever take in my life. So you know, make sure I do it right, get good angles, and all this other stuff. But, you know, you gotta clean off the face, so you– there’s– identifiable as possible. So one of my buddies had a Camelbak with some water in it. Got some, you know, spread some water on him, took a sheet off the bed, kind of wiped the blood off and then took photos.

5.) Owen was saved by a pair of bolt cutters.

“Yeah, I just got a little piece of frag in my shoulder from some of the rounds that came through. It really wasn’t a major wound at all. But, I carry a set of bolt cutters to cut locks with. When I got back, you know, I was checking my gear, seeing if there’s any holes or anything, and I pull out the bolt cutters, and I’ve got the bullet stuck in the handle. So, the bullet just missed me by a little bit, and the handles stick up either side of my head.”

You can read the full transcript from the interview here or watch the 60 Minutes interview with Mark Owen below.