'Uh oh, now I'm the guy who live-blogged Osama raid'

Updated on: 03 May,2011 08:00 AM IST |
Agencies |

Tweeted Sohaib Athar, the man who inadvertently provided minute-to-minute updates on the operation

Tweeted Sohaib Athar, the man who inadvertently provided minute-to-minute updates on the operation

A Pakistani provided live Twitter updates on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, without realising it. IT consultant Sohaib Athar took to Twitter in the early hours of yesterday when he heard helicopters in the night sky above his home close to the compound where bin Laden was cornered and killed by US forces. Posting as @ReallyVirtual, Athar wrote, "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1 am (is a rare event)."

Minutes later he reported, "A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty." Athar went on to describe gunfire, explosions and the sound of a helicopter crashing as the raid continued. He estimated he was around two miles away from the firefight.

Getting the link
It was only hours after the raid took place that the he eventually connected the explosions to an announcement by President Barack Obama that a US military team killed bin Laden in strike at a mansion in Abbottabad. "There goes the neighborhood," Athar tweeted. "Uh oh, now I'm the guy who live-blogged the Osama raid without knowing it."

After his unknowing reportage, Athar was being followed by more than 17,000 Twitter users as he tried to play down his role, "I am JUST a tweeter, awake at the time of the crash. Not many twitter users in Abbottabad, these guys are more into facebook. That's all."

54,328 Followers that Sohaib Athar has on Twitter

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels