Osama bin Laden's house in Khartoum
| Osama bin Laden's house in Khartoum | |
|---|---|
  | |
| General information | |
| Type | Compound |
| Architectural style | Stucco |
| Address | Al-Mashtal Street |
| Town or city | Al-Riyadh, Khartoum |
| Country |  Sudan |
| Coordinates | 15°34′54″N 32°34′22″E / 15.58167°N 32.57278°E |
Osama bin Laden's house in Khartoum is a pink and beige brick-and-stucco three-story house on Al-Mashtal Street in the affluent
Background
Bin Laden arrived in Sudan in 1991 after falling out with
Although the house was heavily guarded with guards armed with machine guns on the ground floor,[10] bin Laden once missed an assassination attempt at this house attempted by Takfiris, an ultra extremist group who considered bin Laden's ways as heretic. Following this attack, his house was made more secure with more guards and trenches dug in front and back of the house. This caused inconvenience to his neighbours who then wished that bin Laden would leave their neighbourhood.[10] After living in Sudan for more than 4 years, he left Sudan in May 1996, bitterly disappointed with political developments in the country he had invested so much in.[10][11] It was reported that the Chinese embassy took over the property as a residence in the years after bin Laden's departure,[10] but by 2011 it was said to have remained vacant since bin Laden was expelled from the country in 1996 because tenants feared that the United States might bomb it.[2]
Description
Richard Miniter describes the house as follows:
On El Meshtal Street, a visitor finds bin Laden's walled compound. The exterior walls are pink and faded to filth. The house is not the most opulent in this Sudanese version of Bel Air. It is a vaguely Art Deco affair, three stories high, with a ridge running up its front. Everything about the exterior of the house indicates comfort. An aluminium-frame walkway topped with thin wooden slats assures shade from the driveway to the front door. Air conditioners hum.[7]
The house was secured with a compound wall, painted pink but faded. At the sides of the house are a series of walled-in compounds.[7] This house was much more spacious and comfortable than the houses he lived in Afghanistan and Pakistan and bin Laden kept his office on second floor. He would even meet people in the open yard in front of his house.[7] He also owned guest houses across the street which he purchased as homes for his top officers.[7]
It is also said that bin Laden lived a very simple life. He owned no vehicles, and used no modern home appliances such as a
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55553-509-4. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ a b c Laessing, Ulf; Abdelaziz, Khalid (2 May 2011). "emptyover attack fears". Reuters. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4128-0620-6. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ Reeve2002,p.175
- ISBN 978-0-7613-1709-8. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-7546-7162-6. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-89526-048-2. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-470-18257-4. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-300-16273-8
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7432-7892-8. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-8223-2991-6. Retrieved 7 May 2011.