UPDATE: Government officials say that following Muslim ritual, the body of Osama bin Laden has been given to the sea. In Muslim faith, as in many other faiths’ rituals, burial is most often within 24 hours of death, after body is washed and ritually ministered to.

Meanwhile on another front, apparently a small crew of Navy Seals had dropped from the sky and rappelled down the walls of the huge mansion compound bin Laden was hiding in along with his ‘youngest wife’ and various family members and a cadre of supporter staff.

One of the Seal helicopters made a ‘hard landing’ in the compound and it is reported at the moment that it was set afire by the Seals. Speculation is this may have been done to destroy any and all documents and salvageable instrumentation that might be misused by others.

It is reported also that a woman at the compound died when she was held as a human shield. Also killed were one of Osama’s sons and several of the son’s children. It is reported that Osama was given a chance to surrender, and he declined.

The entire Navy Seals crew were not injured.

UPDATE: President Obama announced late tonight that bin Laden was killed during a U.S. military action. DNA from bin Laden’s body, compared with DNA samples on record from his dead sister, confirmed bin Laden’s identity. The body was recovered by the US military and is currently in its custody.

It is said he died in a firefight ‘at a mansion’ in the large city of Islamabad, Pakistan, far from the mountainous climes he once inhabited. None of the forces who assulted the mansion, suffered casualties.

What began as a few dozen people outside the WhiteHouse has become a still growing crowd of thousands cheering to hear from the President that bin Laden is dead. The cheers are deafening. I mean really surging as various people shout out ‘we are the chapmtions, people are up in trees, police car lights are flashing, someone in on someone else’s shoulders waving a large American flag. Many of the cheering souls would appear to have been young children not yet teenagers, when the TradeCenter buildings were bombed.

Stay tuned.

The talk is that Osama Bin Laden’s body will be disposed of, rather than given burial to create a ‘site’ for others to come to.

We are awaiting more clarifications and verifications.

It has been speculated for years That Bin Laden was dead somewhere up in the mountains of Afghanistan or Pakistan. It was said that he had diabetes. The speculation, fatuous of otherwise, was that his kidneys were failing and he was in need of dialysis.

That he supposedly was alive and resorted to audio tapes over the last few years to get the message out, instead of his favored videos, seemed to mean he was either in bad shape or else, others were imitating his voice; his views being easy to promulgate.

Regardless of speculations, it appears Bin Laden may have been killed, rather than simply died. We will see.

One of the most interesting points is that Wikileaks info on Bin Laden may be a part of the story.

President Obama is going to make a statement in a short while.

Stay tuned.

For more blog reaction to this development GO HERE.