'Helicopter Above Abbottabad': When Pakistan's Sohaib Athar Unknowingly Posted About Bin Laden Raid

Exactly 13 years back, on this very day, the world witnessed a historic event: the demise of al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, taken down by a top-secret operation executed by the US military’s Special Operations unit in the quiet city of Abbottabad, Pakistan. What adds a fascinating twist to this tale is the unwitting involvement of one of Abbottabad’s own residents, an IT consultant living next door to Bin Laden himself, who inadvertently provided live updates of the operation as it unfolded on his social media handle, @ReallyVirtual.

Sohaib Athar, a tech freelancer and a graduate of Preston University, skyrocketed to fame when his real-time posts (previously known as tweets) served as the world’s initial clue to the unfolding US mission against Bin Laden. It all began on May 2, 2011, when US soldiers raided a compound in Abbottabad and caught Osama Bin Laden. The noise of helicopters woke everyone up, including Athar. Roused from sleep by the noise, he couldn’t resist sharing his surprise at the unusual occurrence.

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“Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1 AM (is a rare event),” read Athar’s first post, followed by a tongue-in-cheek remark: “Go away helicopter – before I take out my giant swatter.”

Little did Athar know that his tweets would coincide with the precise moment when Bin Laden met his end, just eleven minutes after his initial post. Bin Laden, responsible for terror attacks in the name of jihad, was finally brought down by the US special forces.

Athar’s own awakening to the event came with a loud bang, signalling to him that something significant was unfolding. “A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope it’s not the start of something nasty.” he shared.

Speculating on the origins of the helicopters, Athar even entertained the idea that they might be Taliban-operated, and he mentioned hearing reports of a helicopter crash near Abbottabad’s Bilal Town area – a crash later confirmed by the CIA.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t until morning dawned that he pieced together the puzzle, realising he had inadvertently documented the capture and demise of Osama Bin Laden. “Uh oh, now I’m the guy who live blogged the Osama raid without knowing it,” Athar humorously realised.

Since then, Sohaib Athar, ‘the accidental journalist’, has his name forever linked with the historic events that unfolded in the darkness of that Abbottabad night.