Pakistan knew where Bin Laden was all along, Leon Panetta admits as he reveals intelligence source for Osama raid

Convinced: US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta is adamant that the Pakistani government knew about Bin Laden's remote hiding place

Pakistan officials must have known that terror chief Bin Laden was holed up in a remote compound in Abbottabad, claims Pentagon chief Leon Panettta.
The Defence Secretary has publicly hit out at the Pakistani government who he says 'must have had some sense' of Osama Bin Laden's whereabouts.
He said he remains convinced they must have known someone of interest was hiding out in the safe-house in an interview for CBS's '60 Minutes', but added he has no proof.
The explosive interview, to be broadcast tomorrow, also saw Panetta acknowledge for the first time that Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi had provided key information about the former Al Qaeda frontman's whereabouts.
Afridi ran a vaccination program for the CIA to collect DNA and verify Bin Laden's presence in the hideout and Panetta confessed he is 'very concerned' for the doctor who has been charged by Pakistan with treason.
Since the May 2 attack on Bin Laden's compound, last year, Pakistani leaders have continued to deny they had any idea Bin Laden was staying in the city.
This is despite revelations that he had been hiding at the site for as long as five years.
For months the CIA knew of his presence there and spied on him from its own top-secret safe-house next door to the terror leader's fortified compound, before Navy Seals were sent in.

Hiding: Osama Bin Laden watching television at his remote compound in Abbottabad before he was killed at the hide-out

 

Raided: Pakistani security officials granted access to journalists to cover the compound where Osama Bin Laden was killed

 

Remote: A Pakistani security official passes by the Bin Laden's compound

The operation - code named 'Geronimo' - was watched by President Obama in real time from the helmet mounted camera of an elite Navy SEAL commando.

Terror: Nearly a year after since the death of terror chief Osama Bin Laden tensions are still high between the U.S. and Pakistan

Although he saw the terror chief killed by a single bullet to the head, it was only when he received the
signal 'Geronino E-KIA' - which stands for 'Enemy Killed In Action'- that he knew Bin Laden was dead.
It had been claimed the terror chief used a woman thought to be his wife as a human shield - but this was retracted by officials.

The White House also confirmed he was unarmed when the compound was stormed.
Shortly after the raid security forces announced they had arrested 40 people in Abbottabad, suspected of having connections to Osama Bin Laden

This gave rise to growing accusations the Pakistani government must have been aware he was using the base as a safe house, given the network of support he had there.
Relations between the two countries were then further strained when Pakistan hesitated to return a Black Hawk helicopter damaged during the raid.
The U.S. Navy SEAL team that stormed Bin Laden's compound blew up the aircraft after it was damaged during a hard landing.

Must of had some sense: Leon Panetta claims that Pakistani officials must have known about Bin Laden's whereabouts

Aftermath: A view of the compound where Osama Bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad

It had stealth features on board and they wanted to keep sensitive technology out of enemy hands, according to U.S. officials.
But Pakistan's unwillingness to return the aircraft immediately drew further criticism from government chiefs.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged the 'trust deficit' between the two countries last year but he also said Pakistan was too important to walk away from.

Tensions: American relations with Pakistan were strained when they failed to swiftly return this crashed military helicopter used by US Special Forces in Abbottabad

Wreckage: Part of the Black Hawk helicopter, which crashed outside the compound where Osama Bin Laden was killed

'Pakistan is very important, not just because of Afghanistan but because of its nuclear weapons and because of the importance of stability in the subcontinent,' Gates told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think-tank.
'So we need to keep working at this.'