Osama bin Laden's dead body was identified by young girl hiding out with the al-Qaeda leader when Navy SEALS raided his compound

Mail on Sunday obtained copy of explosive account of bin Laden's assassination



Author, identified as ex-SEAL Matt Bissonnette, 36, describes the moment he released he'd killed the 'most wanted man in the world'

Bin Laden was hiding out with two wives and three children



Girl who identified terrorist leader likely to be one of his 20 plus offspring



The dead body of Osama bin Laden was positively identified by a child who was in the room with him when he died, according to a former U.S. Navy SEAL's account of his assassination.

In his explosive book about the operation, titled No Easy Day, 36-year-old Matt Bissonnette - writing under the pseudonym Mark Owen - describes the moment his team discovered the terrorist leader was dead.

Bin Laden was shot before the team reached the room he was hiding out in - taken out by a point man as he peered through a doorway - but the SEALS couldn't get any of the witnesses to identify the 'most wanted man in the world', until they grilled a young girl who had witnessed the killing.



Speaking out: Former Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette appeared on US TV show 60 Minutes this week to discuss his book. CBS said they disguised his appearance for his safety Commando: A photo purported to be of Matt Bissonnette was published by Business Insider on Thursday

In No Easy Day, Bissonnette - who retired last summer - claims he was part of the team that stormed bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan in May 2011.

He described how the the Navy SEALS killed bin Laden's son Khalid as they made their way through the compound towards the terrorist leader's private quarters on the third floor.

Before revealing the moment a teammate opened fire on a man who had peered through a doorway as they made their way up a flight of stairs.

He wrote: 'We were less than five steps from getting to the top when I heard suppressed shots. BOP. BOP.

'The point man had seen a man peeking out of the door on the right side of the hallway about ten feet in front of him. The man disappeared into the dark room.'

Target: A member of Seal Team Six shot and killed Osama bin Laden during the elite squad's daring raid of his compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan

Watching: In this undated image from video seized from bin Laden's compound, the Al-Qaeda chief watches a TV programme showing an image of President Obama

Cover: No Easy Day is scheduled for release on September 4

Bissonnette alleges he was the second man to step inside the room and find a man lying on the ground, surrounded by two hysterical women - later revealed to be two of his wives.

Three children, likely to have been bin Laden's own offspring, were cowering in the corner.



He wrote: 'He was wearing a white sleeveless T-shirt, loose tan pants and a tan tunic.

The point man's shots had entered the right side of his head. Blood and brains spilled out of the side of his skull. In his death throes he was still twitching and convulsing.'

Bissonnette and his teammate, named 'Tom' in the book, then fired a series of rounds into his chest to ensure he was dead.

Examining the body, the pair became convinced they had killed Bin Laden.

Bissonnette wrote: 'The man's face was mangled from from at least one bullet one and covered in blood. his chest was torn up.

'I started to wipe blood away from his face using a blanket from the bed. With each swipe, the face became more familiar.



'It was strange to see such an infamous face up close. Lying in front of me was the reason we had been fighting for the last decade.'



As they photographed and took DNA samples, an Arabic speaking SEAL, called 'Will' in the book, began interrogating the women, one of whom was bin Laden's fifth wife Amal al-Fatah.



But they just listed off a series of aliases, refusing to name bin Laden - so 'Will' turned to the children.

Bissonnette wrote: '(Will) went over to the kids who were outside on the balcony. (He) knelt down and asked one of the girls, 'Who is the man?' The girl didn't know to lie. 'Osama bin Laden.'

Will smiled. 'Are you sure that is Osama bin Laden?' 'Yes,' the girl said.

Tension: The raid of bin Laden's Abottabad compound was watched by President Obama and his closest advisers in the Situation Room of the White House

Armed with confirmation, the Seals relayed the 'Geronimo' message to their superior officers and to President Obama that the target had been killed.



'No Easy Day' was due out September 11, but publisher Dutton announced the book would be available a week early, September 4, because of a surge of orders due to advance publicity that drove the book to the top of the Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com best-seller lists.

U.S. officials fear the book may include classified information, as it did not undergo the formal review required by the Pentagon for works published by former or current Defense Department employees.

Officials from the Pentagon and the CIA, which commanded the mission, are examining the manuscript for possible disclosure of classified information and could take legal action against the author.

Bissonnette - whose true identity was revealed by Fox News - insists he did 'not disclose confidential or sensitive information that would compromise national security in any way.'







