NEW YORK - Want to kill Osama bin Laden all over again? A former US Navy Seal is offering people a chance to do so for just $325 in Minnesota in a re-enactment of the Seal raid that killed the Al-Qaeda chief in Pakistan.
As many as 137 people have signed up, over the past four months, to hold paintball guns and pretend to be highly trained Navy Seals sneaking into a compound in Abbottabad, to kill a bearded man in a white robe.
The former Navy Seal, Larry Yatch told the Minnesota Public Radio that the game is not just for entertainment, but also taught them self-defence, the New York Daily News reported.
“It’s the people that might be a little intimidated around a gun or don’t necessarily feel comfortable having to fight with someone, those are the people who we can make the biggest difference in their lives,” Yatch said.
According to the report, the fake Al-Qaeda compound is set up in the basement of the Sealed Mindset studio, which also takes self-defence classes and firearms training.
In one July re-enactment, the group of ‘SEALs’ included a plastic surgeon and a married couple, who said they bought tickets at a school fundraiser.
In each imaginary raid, Yatch greets his Seals with startling news: “We’re going to be flying from our base in Afghanistan ... Obviously, this is a complete black op, or clandestine operation”.
There are fake briefings and plenty of instructions given to participants as they prepare to hunt for the Al-Qaeda leader, the report added.
“If he presents a lethal threat, take him out, I don’t want to have to write a letter to any of your parents, OK?” said Yatch.