Bin Laden live blog 2 May

18:20 The body of Osama bin Laden must be buried in the ground, and throwing it into the sea would be a 'sin', said Mahmoud Ashour of the Al Azhar Academy of Islamic Research, the most prestigious Sunni educational institute, while speaking to ANSA.

The Al Azhar official rejected the idea of sea burial of the Al Qaida leader for "trivial motives", explaining that even when someone drowns, the body must be searched for in order to be able to "bury it in the ground". "They should bury it in the ground without putting anything on the grave," explained Ashour, responding to a question about whether Osama bin Laden's burial could become a sort of pilgrimage site.

17:41 The death of terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden will have little impact on the US economy, or on specific industries such as insurance that are tied financially to terrorism, says Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) Chairman Warren Buffett. However, Buffett said Bin Laden’s death will have a profound impact on how Americans view their leaders. 

16:20 Statement by Gilles de Kerchove, EU counter-terrorism coordinator, on Osama Bin Laden's death.

15:35 Footage from inside the ruined compound which bin Laden was using s a hideout in Pakistan’s Abbottabad Valley, after it was stormed by the US 'Team 6' black operations Navy SEAL squad responsible for the discovery and killing of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was following a specific kill order (meaning the US never intended to take bin Laden hostage), according to reports.

15:21 CIA Director Leon Panetta warns al Qaeda would "almost certainly" try to avenge the US killing of Osama bin Laden. "Though Bin Laden is dead, al-Qaeda is not. The terrorists almost certainly will attempt to avenge him, and we must -- and will -- remain vigilant and resolute.”

15:15: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf said the operation "should have been carried out by Pakistani troops This is our sensitivity, that no foreign troops should enter Pakistan. Although what has happened is good, I do not expect Pakistani people to be happy at the way our sovereignty was violated…We did not allow US troops to carry out a single action on our soil."

14:54 Joint statement by European Commission President Barroso and European Council President Van Rompuy on the death of Osama Bin Laden

"Osama Bin Laden was a criminal responsible for heinous terrorist attacks that cost the lives of thousands of innocent people. His death makes the world a safer place and shows that such crimes do not remain unpunished.

"This is a major achievement in our efforts to rid the world of terrorism. The European Union continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States, our international partners and our friends in the Muslim world in combating the scourge of global extremism and in building a world of peace, security and prosperity for all."

14:15 The US special forces team that hunted down Osama Bin Laden was under orders to kill him, not capture him, according to statements by a US national security official as reported by Reuters news agency. "This was a kill operation," the official said, making clear there was no desire to try to capture Bin Laden alive in Pakistan.

14:05 The leader of the Palestinian militant Hamas government in Gaza has condemned the United States for killing Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh says the operation is "the continuation of the American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs."

13:27 A photo of Bin Laden's hideout from the New Statesman and a Google Maps image of the location.

View A map that raises questions in a larger map

13:24 Our photo-slideshow provides a live roll of photos being posted on Flickr by people in the United States celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden.

13:18 From The Hindu: Information technology consultant Sohaib Akhtar appears to have been the first in Abbottabad to tweet Bin Laden's impending death at 1 a.m. (Pakistan time): "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)", Akhtar tweeted a good eight hours before U. S. President Barack Obama announced to the world that bin Laden had been killed.

13:15 Secretary General of the Council of Europe says threat of terrorism remains acute

Strasbourg - "The news of the death of Osama Bin Laden, confirmed by US President Obama today, is certainly an important step in the international efforts in fighting terrorism. It is of immense symbolic significance. However, as recent events have shown, the threat of terrorism remains acute today and the Council of Europe is dedicated to combatting terrorism together with its Member States," said Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

12:34 The U.S. Department of State alerts U.S. citizens traveling and residing abroad to the enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counter-terrorism activity  in Pakistan.

12:30 The picture (see below) currently in circulation depicting the corpse of Obama bin Laden has been reported as a fake - nothing more than an edited version of a picture of the Islamic militant already in circulation, meaning that pictures confirming his demise are not in the public domain yet.

12:10 UK opposition leader Ed Miliband MP says: "Osama Bin Laden committed one of history's most appalling acts of terrorism and the world is a safer place because he will no longer be able to command or encourage acts of terror. For the victims of 9/11 and their families, nothing can take away the pain of what happened but this will provide an important sense of justice. Despite the death of Osama Bin Laden, our vigilance against the perpetrators of terrorism must and will continue."

11:50 The media was quick to speculate why Bin Laden was buried so quickly, and why he was buried at sea. The reason is bound up within Islamic practice and tradition. And that practice calls for the body of the deceased to be buried within 24 hours, according to a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive national security matters.

"We are ensuring that it is handled in accordance with Islamic practice and tradition," confirmed the official. "This is something that we take very seriously. And so therefore this is being handled in an appropriate manner."

The official said that finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult, so the decision was made to bury bin Laden at sea. However, many speculate that the US would not have wanted there to be a physical grave site for fear of it turning into a place of worship for bin Laden's followers.

There are rumors, however, that the US asked Saudi Arabia to take the body (bin Laden was born in Saudi) but they allegedly refused.

11:30 Members of militant Islamist forums are however saying that they pray the news of Osama bin Laden's death is not true and hinted at retaliation if it was.

"Oh God, please make this news not true... God curse you Obama," said one message on an Arabic language forum. "Oh Americans... it is still legal for us to cut your necks."

"Osama may be killed but his message of Jihad will never die. Brothers and sisters, wait and see, his death will be a blessing in disguise," said a poster on another Islamist forum.

Another forum member pointed to the irony of bin Laden's location, contrasting with long-time rumors that he was hiding in caves. "So after 10 years of hiding in mountains, he ends up getting killed in a mansion outside of Islamabad. Interesting."

11:15 Asian stocks were mostly positive as Japan is climbing steadily while Sydney shakes off concerns over the rise of the Australian dollar after news of the death of Osama bin Laden. The developments come amid optimism that Wall Street shares would rise following the death of the Al-Qaeda mastermind.

In the meantime, the news has prompted a number of reactions by world leaders.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso have issued a joint statement: "Osama Bin Laden was a criminal responsible for heinous terrorist attacks that cost the lives of thousands of innocent people.

His death makes the world a safer place and shows that such crimes do not remain unpunished... The European Union continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States, our international partners and our friends in the Muslim world in combating the scourge of global extremism and in building a world of peace, security and prosperity for all."

UK Leader David Cameron also welcomed the news as a “massive step forward in fight against terrorism” and that it would “bring great relief to people across the world.”

“Osama bin Laden was responsible for the worst terrorist atrocities the world has seen - for 9/11 and for so many attacks, which have cost thousands of lives, many of them British,” he said. “It is a great success that he has been found and will no longer be able to pursue his campaign of global terror. It is also a time too to thank all those who work round the clock to keep us safe from terrorism.”

The Vatican has also issued statements damning bin Laden as having to “answer to God” for having killed many people and exploiting religion to spread hate.

Spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that while Christians "do not rejoice" over a death, it serves to remind them of "each person's responsibility before God and men".

"Osama bin Laden, as everyone knows, had the grave responsibility of having spread division and hate among people, causing the deaths of an innumerable number of people and exploiting religion for these purposes," he said.

Earlier, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the killing of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan proved Kabul's long-standing position that the war on terror was not rooted in Afghanistan:

"Again and again, for years and every day we have said that the war on terror is not in Afghan villages, not in Afghan houses of the poor and oppressed," he tells a gathering of tribal elders. "The war against terrorism is in its sources, in its financial sources, its sanctuaries, in its training bases, not in Afghanistan. It was proven that we were right."