Bin Laden pays price for declaring war on innocent people
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Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Monday said the death of Osama bin Laden gives the families of Australians who have died in terrorist attacks "some measure of justice".
Osama bin Laden, head of Al-Qaida, was killed in a raid by U.S. forces on a mansion north of the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
Ten Australian citizens have died in the September 2001 terrorist attacks; 88 died in the October 2002 Bali bombings; five died in the London and Bali attacks in 2005; and two who died in the Mumbai attacks in November 2008.
Gillard said many Australians had lost their lives in terrorist acts of violence in recent years.
"Their families still grieve their loss," she said in a media conference in Canberra on Monday.
"We as a nation still remember their loss and we remember it today."
"I trust that today's news comes as some small measure of justice for those who still grieve the loss of their loved ones."
Gillard said bin Laden had declared war on innocent people, and today he has paid the price for that declaration.
Al-Qaida had been hurt by the death of bin Laden, but Gillard said it is not completely out, and the war against terrorism must continue.
"We will need to continue the mission in Afghanistan," Gillard said. "The fight against terrorism is not over."
While Australians would continue to do security work in Afghanistan as preparations against acts of terrorism, Gillard said circumstances in Afghanistan would continue to be difficult for Australian soldiers.
"Al-Qaida has been hurt today but it would be far too early to make conclusions about what that might mean for the nature of the fight in Afghanistan. It will continue to be a difficult place for our soldiers to go and do their vital work," he said.
Also, Gillard said it was too early to say whether the death of bin Laden would lead to a change in strategy in Afghanistan.
