Barack Obama: Terrorist Osama bin Laden has been killed

President Barack Obama confirmed the news Sunday night in an historic 11:30 p.m. ET Sunday live statement from the White House.

“We give thanks to the men who carried out this operation,” he said, citing those who pulled off the mission in Pakistan as exemplifying patriotism at its finest. America can accomplish “anything we set our mind to,” Obama added, calling the completed mission the “most significant achievement to date in the fight against Al Qaeda.”

Obama said “actionable U.S. intelligence” led to the strike that fell bin Laden, the criminal mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that left 3,000 people dead on U.S. soil. The tip about the Al Qaeda leader’s whereabouts first came last August, the President said, and on his order Sunday, “a small team of American commandos killed bin Laden and took custody of his body. His demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace.

“On nights like this one, we can say that justice has been done.”