Pakistan returns U.S. helicopter from bin Laden raid

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pakistan has returned to the United States wreckage of a U.S. helicopter destroyed during the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, a Pentagon official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The delivery of the wreckage meets a key U.S. demand of Pakistan in the wake the May 2 mission to kill the al Qaeda leader, which Islamabad branded a violation of its sovereignty.

Pakistani officials were kept in the dark about the U.S. raid in Abbottabad, only 30 miles from Pakistan’s capital.

“It (the wreckage) was returned over the weekend and is now back in the United States,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said.

The U.S. Navy SEAL team blew up the helicopter damaged during the raid to prevent sensitive technology from falling into enemy hands.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Vicki Allen)