(Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Sunday that he hoped the dramatic killing of Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks that brought down the city's Twin Towers, would comfort those who lost loved ones that day. "The killing of Osama bin Laden does not lessen the suffering that New Yorkers and Americans experienced at his hands, but it is a critically important victory for our nation -- and a tribute to the millions of men and women in our armed forces and elsewhere who have fought so hard for our nation," he said in a statement. "New Yorkers have waited nearly 10 years for this news. It is my hope that it will bring some closure and comfort to all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001," he said. In the city's Times Square neighborhood, where one year ago law enforcement foiled a botched attempt to blow up the area known for its Broadway theaters, hundreds gathered to celebrate after midnight with a large police presence and firetrucks parked among the crowd. Crowds also quickly amassed to celebrate at what became known after the attacks as Ground Zero, the site in lower Manhattan where the Twin Towers had stood. Many shouted "bin Laden is dead, bin Laden is dead." "After September 11, 2001, we gave our word as Americans that we would stop at nothing to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. After the contribution of millions, including so many who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, we have kept that word," Bloomberg said.

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