They always say that

"I simply can't believe it" seems to have been the reaction of Osama bin Laden's neighbours in Bilal Town.

The local residents are still struggling to believe what happened here in Bilal Town, in this highly militarized district of Abbottabad where the army runs a military academy, where barracks stand in green fields and which is constantly patrolled by Pakistan's military police.

Here of all places, at 1.30 a.m. local time, Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted man, was found and killed.

"I simply can't believe it," said Jehangir Khan, a resident of Bilal Town. "How could he hide in this highly secured city?" the businessman wondered. Like many other residents, he was woken in the night by a heavy explosion. "We were very frightened, there haven't been any terror attacks in Abbottabad," said Saifullah, a student who lives in the city.

Saifullah climbed on the roof of his parent's house and saw "two or three helicopters, there was a shootout." Other residents switched on the TV, which also had reports of two or three helicopters.

I am waiting for somebody to inform us that he always seemed such a nice, quiet chap; kept himself to himself but always said good morning to his neighbours.