How did the world's most wanted terrorist -- a 6-foot 4-inch tall man whose face was plastered on televisions around the globe -- manage to avoid capture for so long? Through disguise, deception and blind luck.
According to a 337-page dossier completed by Pakistani authorities and published by Al Jazeera, Osama bin Laden managed to live in Pakistan for nine years before his death by avoiding surveillance, employing disguises, seeking the help of dependable bodyguards and relying on the "gross incompetence" of the country's government and military.
The report was the result of a task force that began an investigation soon after U.S. forces killed bin Laden in a May 2011 raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The results were suppressed by the Pakistani government, but leaked to Al Jazeera.
Some notable details from bin Laden's life on the lam:
* He reportedly hid in six residences -- all in Pakistan -- from 2002 to 2011. The final residence was a custom-built compound that no one in Abbottabad questioned during or after its construction, according to the report. Bin Laden resided there for six years with his entourage of family members, his bodyguards and their families.
* He shaved his beard and even wore a cowboy hat to avoid detection.
* He was in a car that got pulled over by the police, but was let go without questioning. Ibrahim al-Kuwaiti, one of bin Laden’s two trusted bodyguards, his wife Maryam and bin Laden once took a trip to a bazaar in Swat. During the ride, their vehicle was stopped by police for speeding. The officer, who spoke with al-Kuwaiti, reportedly failed to notice that one of the vehicle's passengers was a known terrorist and let them go.
* During her six years at the compound, al-Kuwaiti's wife, Maryam, said she never once saw bin Laden. Bin Laden's family and the families of the two couriers living at the compound had limited interaction; the children of bin Laden's family did not play with the other kids.
* Al-Kuwaiti's 9-year-old daughter Rahma was inquisitive about the mysterious "uncle" who lived upstairs. When she asked her father why the man never left to buy anything at the bazaar, al-Kuwaiti replied that it was because the man was too poor. The daughter subsequently referred to bin Laden as "miskeen kaka," or "poor uncle." One day while watching Al Jazeera, a picture of bin Laden appeared on the screen the screen and Rahma recognized him as 'miskeen kaka.' It was only then that al-Kuwaiti's wife realized that bin Laden was the man living in the building. After the incident, al-Kuwaiti banned women from viewing any future broadcasts.
* Bin Laden personally saw to the religious education of his grandchildren at the compound. He also supervised their play time and encouraged them to grow vegetable plots, doling out prizes to the best performers.
* On the night of his death, bin Laden was with his youngest wife when they were woken by what "sounded like a storm." Bin Laden summoned his two daughters to his room, where they recited the Kalima, or declaration of faith. He told them that American helicopters had arrived and that they should leave immediately, but they refused. Shortly afterward, the raid began.
* The report concluded that Bin Laden remained undetected due to a "collective failure." The report said the abnormal compound should have set off alarm bells and placed blame on Pakistan's military authorities, intelligence authorities, police and civilian administration. "This failure included negligence and incompetence and at some undetermined level a grave complicity may or may not have been involved," it reads.
Click here to read the full dossier.
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