Why photos of bin Laden's body were never released

A first-hand account from the Navy SEAL who killed him

A navy seal in action.

The Operator is the only account of the bin Laden raid fully vetted by the United State Department of Defense. The book underwent a full DOD review, which included reviews by Joint Special Operations Command, the SEAL teams, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 

But The Operator is about more than just one raid. It is a thought-provoking and often jaw-dropping account of O’Neill’s awe-inspiring 400-mission career, which earned him two Silver Stars and four Bronze Stars with Valor.

O’Neill’s remarkable career included his involvement in attempts to rescue ‘Lone Survivor’ Marcus Luttrell from Taliban forces, and abducted-by-Somali-pirates Captain Richard Phillips, which both inspired motion pictures.

‘O’Neill wrote himself into American history with the three shots he fired into Osama bin Laden, but if you think that operation was intense wait till you read about the ones that preceded it . . .   intensely moving and awe-inspiring.’ —Marcus Luttrell, New York Times bestselling co-author of Lone Survivor

The former Navy SEAL operative who shot Osama bin Laden in 2011 has penned his detailed account of how he took down the al-Qaeda leader in a new book.

Robert O’Neill is the only American to see bin Laden alive after the September 11 terror attacks.

In the five and a half years since the bin Laden raid, questions have swirled around what really occurred at the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in the early morning hours of 2 May, 2011.

In his book, The Operator, O’Neill reveals the gruesome reason why photos of the terror leader’s body were never released.

‘Bin Laden’s head was a mess, split wide above his eyebrow like a melon dropped on a tile floor,’ the decorated veteran writes. 

O’Neill details that bin Laden’s head had to be pressed back together for identification photos – which were never publicly released.

In The Operator, O'Neill describes some of the 400 missions he participated in during his time with the Navy SEALs, which earned him two Silver Stars and four Bronze Stars with Valor. (Simon & Schuster UK, RRP $35). Available now.