Bin Laden Training Ground May Be Revealed By Bing Maps [Photo]
Osama bin Laden’s training ground may have been accidentally exposed by Bing Maps, as a civilian satellite captured what could be overhead images of a North Carolina mock-up of the former al Qaeda leader’s compound.
The mock-up was used by SEAL Team Six to train for and execute the secret mission to take out the al Qaeda leader. ABC News reports that the images have been posted on several satellite imaging websites along with Bing.
The complex appears to be brand new and mostly open air. It’s located in a rural town in North Carolina and is strikingly similar to the layout of bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
TerraServer, a satellite imaging website, shows DigitalGlobe images of the compound on different days, showing that the building was constructed sometime after January 14, 2011.
One image from February 15, 2011 shows a construction crane and several vehicles around the complex, while another taken on April 30 shows no vehicles at all, suggesting that the complex was abandoned.
Just one day later, on May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden was killed during a raid by American troops. The final satellite image of the compound was taken in November 2011, showing it completely leveled.
NBC News notes that the search for the bin Laden training ground came after the release of the best-selling book No Easy Day in which a former Navy SEAL involved in the raid revealed that the training for the assault took place in North Carolina.
The Pentagon has confirmed that the facility was dismantled after the raid, a fact that is confirmed by the satellite images, which were first dug up by whistleblowing site Cryptome.org. The site scoured through satellite imagery of CIA facilities in North Carolina to find the photos of the bin Laden training ground.
