Pakistan on Sunday continued the demolition of the compound in the northwestern garrison town of Abbottabad where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden lived for years before being killed by U.S. special forces last May.

The demolition, which began late Saturday, continued through the night. Bulldozers were busy tearing down the remnants of the three-story building.

By Sunday evening, workers had destroyed more than half of the large concrete compound and its tall boundary walls.

Pakistani security forces cordoned off the area to keep spectators and journalists away during the demolition.

Officials never have said why they decided to tear down the compound that once housed the world's most wanted terrorist.

Islamabad was outraged and embarrassed by the daring night raid that killed bin Laden. Washington said it kept the raid secret because it feared that someone in the Pakistani government might tip off the al-Qaida chief.

The Pakistani-U.S. relationship has never recovered after the raid, and it deteriorated further after an airstrike on a Pakistani border post in November left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead.