Ex-Navy SEAL sticks to his claim of killing OBL alone

NEW YORK: The former Navy SEAL Team Six soldier who claims he killed Osama bin Laden has penned his detailed account of how he took down the al-Qaeda leader in a new book, according to foreign media reports.

Robert O'Neill stands by his controversial claim that he was solely responsible for death of the 9/11 mastermind in his memoir, 'The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Bin Laden'.

And in the book, O'Neill makes the gruesome claim that bin Laden's head was so severely destroyed by his gunfire that it had to be pressed back together for identification photos - which were never publicly released.

The decorated veteran has faced harsh criticism for his decision to speak out about the fateful night at the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan in May of 2011.

In impassioned detail, he describes the mission, which began with him trailing at least five other Navy SEALs up the stairs to the second floor of the leader's compound, which they believed to contain bin Laden, three of his four wives, and 17 of his children.

They then spotted bin Laden's son, Khalid, who was armed with an AK-47. CIA Intelligence informed them that once they found Khalid, Osama would be at the floor above them, the NY Daily News reported.

The agents were able to lure Khalid from where he was hiding behind a banister by calling to him in Arabic, saying: 'Khalid, come here.'

He shouted in response: 'What?' and emerged from his hiding spot, and was immediately shot in the face. O'Neill writes that once the agents reached the third floor, they all spanned out to search the various rooms.

The point man with O'Neill walked in front of him, and at one point shot a shadowed figure that poked out from behind a curtain. He recalled the moment he realized it was time to take action.

'I'm f-----g done with waiting for it to happen,' he thought, as he gave his point man the signal to charge, and they burst through the curtain they had just shot at. They then tackled two women to the ground who were inside, and laid eyes on the United States' most wanted enemy - Osama bin Laden - cowering behind his youngest wife Amal.

The 18-year-old girl was later identified to have been they shadowy figure they shot at from behind the curtain, and she took the bullet to her calf while protecting her 43-year-old husband.