The official announcement was made by Barack Obama. Thousands of cheering young people at the White House. In Pakistan there is fear of Taliban reactions. Enhanced security measures at government offices and churches. The dollar strengthens and oil prices fall.

Washington (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Osama Bin Laden, the founder and leader of Al Qaeda was killed yesterday in a military operation in Abbottabad, around 60 km from Islamabad. The U.S. president, Barack Obama officially announced the death, saying the body of the "No wanted 1" on the U.S. intelligence terror list, after a decade of sustained effort, has been taken."

Bin Laden was regarded as the masterminds of many terrorist attacks, particularly the attack on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001. Obama concluded his communication enphatically stating: "Justice is done."

At the news of the death of Osama, thousands of young Americans gathered to celebrate in front of the White House. American, European and Israeli political leaders celebrated the news as "a triumphant result." But at the same time, the U.S. has launched an alert to all U.S. embassies around the world in fear of attacks by terrorist groups.

In Pakistan, the AsiaNews correspondent says that the population is even more cowed: everyone is afraid of violent reactions from the thousands of Taliban madrassas in the area, the result of the fight against terrorism. All government buildings were put under high security. Controls were also up in front of churches, for fear of "anti-Crusader" reprisals by terrorists.

At the news of the death of Bin Laden, the dollar strengthened against other currencies and oil prices declined by 1, 1%, after 31 months of steady growth.

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