Bin Laden Raid Had Help From Space, Secret Budget Documents Show

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This is a satellite image of the former Osama Bin Laden compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan

A fleet of satellites played a vital role in the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, according to intelligence documents obtained by the Washington Post from whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The so-called “black budget” documents, which detail spending on spying, revealed the role of satellites in collecting masses of electronic and communications intelligence from Pakistan during the daring raid. Satellites were also used to collect hundreds of images of bin Laden’s Abbottabad compound beforehand.

The same budget documents show that after bin Laden had been killed, U.S. intelligence agencies spent $2.5 million analyzing computer files and other evidence seized at bin Laden’s compound.

[Washington Post]