Security Stepped Up Around Osama Hideaway1:02pm UK, Wednesday May 04, 2011
Graham Fitzgerald, Sky News Online

Security has been stepped up around the compound in Abbottabad that was home to Osama bin Laden until his death at the hands of US special forces.

Police guard outside the compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad

The move comes after the world's media and hundreds of curious local residents flocked to Bilal Town, where the vast, high-walled mansion is located.

All visitors have been cleared from the neighbourhood following an about-turn by the authorities, who had previously allowed them to wander round freely.

Dozens of Pakistani youths demionstrated outside the £600,000 house on Tuesday, mocking America and shouting "Osama is alive!"

"More than 300 armed policemen have been deployed at the entry points, as well as in the town and close to the house for security reasons," a local police official said.

Police, media and local residents outside the compound on Tuesday

Just over a dozen army troops were also seen moving into the area and standing guard in front of the house, where bin Laden lived with around 36 family members and trusted lieutenants.

Local residents returning to their homes were being body-searched and their ID cards checked.

Meanwhile, further details have emerged of bin Laden's existence at the villa, reportedly his home for the last six years.

A story has been told of a woman involved in a polio vaccine drive who turned up at the hideaway with medication for the 23 children inside.

Osama's Hideout From Air And Ground 

See pictures of the compound Osama bin Laden was hiding in for up to six years

She was allowed into the grounds - where several SUVs were parked - but not inside the house itself. A man simply took the vaccine and told her to go away.

Reports also suggest a doctor had been regularly visiting the property to treat the al Qaeda leader, although these have not been confirmed.

Local children living near the compound said they often used to knock on the front door to ask for their football back when they had kicked it over the wall.

One child said they never got their ball back - the security men always denied it was there - but gave them money instead to go away.

Images showing the site of the compound before and after it was built

Neighbours said they knew little about those inside in the compound, although there were two men who would routinely emerge to run errands or attend a social event such as a funeral.

There were conflicting details about the men's identities. Several people said they were known as Tariq and Arshad Khan and claimed to be cousins from elsewhere in northwestern Pakistan.

Others gave different names and believed they were brothers. Arshad was the oldest, and both spoke multiple languages, including Pashto and Urdu, which are common in the region.

Pakistani soldiers in the grounds of Bin Laden's compound

Built in 2005, the compound is about eight times the size of most homes in the area and is surrounded by 12-18ft high walls topped with barbed wire.

Some parts are also sectioned off by inner walls and the only way of getting in is through two security gates.

There are no telephone lines or internet connection and no visible air-conditioning units to keep the occupants cool in the heat of summer.

Sky's Alex Crawford, at the compound on Tuesday, said: "You can see from the tops of outbuildings that there has been some sort of fire - if not an explosion - at the outhouse immediately next to the house.

US Defence Department graphic showing the layout of the compound

"The tin roof is very charred and burnt and the security wall inside is very charred and black, so something has definitely gone on. Perhaps that's where the firefight happened.

"The actual house appears to be untouched, although it doesn't look as if it has been kept very well.

"There's lots of grass growing out of the drainpipes on the first floor, the windows look to be in a slight state of disrepair.

"It doesn't look like the house of a man who'd been living in splendour. It does look like the house of a man who'd been trying to hide from the world."

Abbottabad is a scenic garrison town with a barracks and a military academy