--- description: The hunt for the Al-Qaeda leader ended on May 2, 2011 title: Osama bin Laden Killed: Story Behind the TIME 'Red X' Cover image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e8b79877fc5b9fb/6988909f196cf4603d03b595/1101110520_400.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Media](/tag/media/) ## Media Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Behind the Osama bin Laden 'Red X' TIME Cover  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Updated: Jan 24, 2024 12:52 PM CUTPublished: May 2, 2016 1:00 PM CUT  The May 20, 2011, cover of TIME The May 20, 2011, cover of TIMECover Credit: ILLUSTRATION BY TIM O'BRIEN FOR TIME  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Updated: Jan 24, 2024 12:52 PM CUTPublished: May 2, 2016 1:00 PM CUT When Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, it was the culmination of a decade of hunting for the man behind the horrific terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. To many, bin Laden’s death offered “a relief to find that America can still fix a bull’s-eye on a difficult goal, stick with it year after frustrating year and succeed when almost no one expects it,” as David Von Drehle put it in a special issue of TIME published shortly afterward. For the cover of that issue TIME went with a concept that had only been used three other times in the magazine’s history: the red X. The first was in 1945, for [Adolf Hitler](http://time.com/vault/issue/1945-05-07/page/1/ "undefined"); (a[nother X’ed-out cover that year ](http://time.com/vault/issue/1945-08-20/page/1/ "undefined")marked the end of World War II with the crossing out of Japan’s rising sun, but in that case the X was black); the second in 2003, for [Saddam Hussein](http://time.com/vault/issue/2003-04-21/page/1/ "undefined"), and the third in 2006, for [Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi](http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20060619,00.html "undefined"). Each time, the X symbolized the end of a long struggle against a formidable enemy. **MORE:** [How TIME Secured Its First Interview with Osama bin Laden](http://time.com/3598204/osama-bin-laden-history/ "undefined") In the special note in the issue, TIME’s then-editor Richard Stengel explained the thinking that had gone into the choice: --- > “” --- **_Read the cover story, here on TIME.com:_** [How the U.S. Finally Got Its Man](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2069571,00.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4307301/5-years-osama-bin-laden/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4307301/5-years-osama-bin-laden/"},"headline":"Behind the Osama bin Laden 'Red X' TIME Cover","datePublished":"2016-05-02T13:00:29.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-24T12:52:54.000Z","description":"The hunt for the al-Qaeda leader ended on May 2, 2011","url":"https://time.com/4307301/5-years-osama-bin-laden/","keywords":["Media","Terrorism","9/11"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e8b79877fc5b9fb/6988909f196cf4603d03b595/1101110520_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e8b79877fc5b9fb/6988909f196cf4603d03b595/1101110520_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"May 20, 2011","caption":"May 20, 2011","creditText":"Cover Credit: ILLUSTRATION BY TIM O'BRIEN FOR TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/media/","name":"Media"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4307301/5-years-osama-bin-laden/","name":"Behind the Osama bin Laden 'Red X' TIME Cover"}}]}] ```