'Only one of raid dead was armed'

Only one of the five people killed in the raid in which Osama bin Laden died was armed and fired any shots, a senior US defence official said today, acknowledging that the new account differs greatly from original administration portrayals of a chaotic, intense and prolonged firefight.

The only gunman in the al-Qaida leader’s Pakistani compound was quickly killed in the early minutes of the commando operation, before the Navy Seals assault team swept through the house and shot the others, the official said.