'Geronimo-E KIA (killed in action)' were SEALs' first words after killing Bin Laden

Washington, May 2 (ANI): The first words uttered after the successful completion of a US Navy SEALs raid that killed Osama bin Laden last year in his Abbottabad compound, were 'Geronimo-E KIA', US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has revealed on the first anniversary of the Al-Qaeda leader's death.

"The person who was heading up the operation basically said, 'You know, I think we have a Geronimo'," Panetta said during an exclusive interview with CBS News.

"And I kind of looked around at everybody at operation center and said, "I think--[it] looks like we may have-Bin Laden really was there. And then he came back [and said], "We think we have Geronimo K.I.A," he added.

'Geronimo' was the code name given to the Al-qaeda leader, E stood for enemy and KIA meant 'killed in action'.

The mission to kill Osama bin Laden was run from CIA headquarters.

The man in charge that night was Leon Panetta.

When asked what was the scene in the operation center at the CIA at that point, Panetta said it 'wasn't like we were high-fiving.'

"It was more like, frankly, we kind of looked at each other and said all of the work that had been done, all of the questions that had been raised, all of the risks that had been talked about-that in the end it had all proven right," he added. (ANI)