The team’s plan was to get in and get out of the compound quickly. It was on the ground for under 40 minutes and did not, says a senior administration official, encounter any local Pakistani authorities during that time.
The operation quickly became a kill, not capture, mission when bin Laden “resisted the assault force.” A firefight ensued, and bin Laden was alive for most of it.
Intelligence officials believe that bin Laden was living on the second and third floors of the largest building in the compound – the most highly guarded areas. It was there that he was ultimately found and killed with a shot to the head, according to the official.
