New book raises questions about Osama death

Bissonnette says he was directly behind a point man going up the stairs. Less than five steps from the top of the stairs,he heard suppressed gunfire: BOP. BOP. The point man had seen a man peeking out of the door.

The book says Osama then ducked into his bedroom. The SEALs followed and found him crumpled in a pool of blood with a hole visible on the right side of his head. Bissonnette says the other SEALs then shot at Osamas still-twitching body till he lay motionless. They later found two weapons at the doorway,untouched.

US administration earlier said that the SEALs shot Osama only after he ducked back into the bedroom because they assumed he might be reaching for a weapon.

Bissonette writes that during a pre-raid briefing,a lawyer from either the White House or Defence Department told the SEALs that if Osama didnt pose a threat,they should detain him. The lawyer said if Osama was naked with his hands up, they shouldnt engage him.

In another uncomfortable revelation for US officials who say Osamas body was treated with dignity,the author reveals that in the cramped helicopter flight out of the compound,one of the SEALs Walt,a pseudonym,was sitting on Osamas chest as the body lay at the authors feet.

He also writes that none of the SEALs were fans of President Obama and knew his administration would take credit for the raid.