With five-year delay, CIA 'live-tweets' Osama bin Laden raid

Using the hashtag #UBLRaid, the CIA blasted out updates of the May 2011 strike as if it was unfolding in real time.

The CIA has marked the anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden by live-tweeting -- with a five-year delay -- the raid by US special forces on the Al-Qaeda founder's compound in Pakistan.

Using the hashtag #UBLRaid, the CIA blasted out updates of the May 2011 strike as if it was unfolding in real time -- in a highly unusual move for the secretive spy agency. Read: 5 years on, doctor who helped CIA track bin Laden languishes in Pak jail

"To mark the 5th anniversary of the Usama Bin Ladin operation in Abbottabad we will tweet the raid as if it were happening today. #UBLRaid," @CIA said in announcing its social media blitz.

To mark the 5th anniversary of the Usama Bin Ladin operation in Abbottabad we will tweet the raid as if it were happening today.#UBLRaid

— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016

Tweets included the now famous picture of President Barack Obama and other high-ranking US officials watching matters unfold from the White House's Situation Room.

1:25 pm EDT-@POTUS, DCIA Panetta, & JSOC commander Admiral McRaven approve execution of op in Abbottabad.#UBLRaid pic.twitter.com/YhvuJVrMVc

— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016

"1:51 pm EDT - Helicopters depart from Afghanistan for compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan #UBLRaid," read one tweet.

1:51 pm EDT - Helicopters depart from Afghanistan for compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan#UBLRaid

— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016

"3:30 pm EDT - 2 helicopters descend on compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. 1 crashes, but assault continues without delay or injury #UBLRaid," read another.

3:30 pm EDT - 2 helicopters descend on compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. 1 crashes, but assault continues without delay or injury#UBLRaid

— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016

That was followed just minutes later by: "3:39 pm EDT - Usama Bin Ladin found on third floor and killed #UBLRaid."

3:39 pm EDT - Usama Bin Ladin found on third floor and killed#UBLRaid

— CIA (@CIA) May 1, 2016

The CIA's Twitter move got quite a bit of attention, with not everyone enthused.

"@CIA Are we tweeting Hiroshima on August 6th too Or is THAT in bad taste " tweeted one user, Kris Knight.

Another who identies as Amber V tweeted: "Don't you have better things to do, like catch living and breathing bad guys, or secretly invade our privacy, or something @CIA#UBLRaid"

But others reacted positively.

"Watching the @CIA relive on Twitter the #UBLRaid today reminds me of how proud I am of the men and women who do what they do. Thank you," tweeted Toby Knapp. CIA focus on al-Baghdadi

With 1.33 million Twitter followers, the Central Intelligence Agency has sent 1,662 tweets since it joined the social media service in February 2014.

"We are the Nation's first line of defense. We accomplish what others cannot accomplish and go where others cannot go," reads the Twitter bio.

Previous @CIA tweets in recent days have featured a video about the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine and a counterfeit Nazi stamp.

Amid the tweetstorm, CIA chief John Brennan said Sunday that taking out the head of the Islamic State group would have a "great impact."

He also warned that Al-Qaeda remained a threat, and that IS was not just an organization but a phenomenon.