NEW YORK, Aug 23: A new book written by a former US SEAL team leader, which gives a “blow-by-blow” account of the operation which resulted in the killing of Osama bin Laden, has ignited a heated debate between the Republican and Democratic parties which are questioning its release before election.

The book is expected to hit the bookstore on September 11.

Titled “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden,” the book has been written by a member of the SEALs with the pseudonym of Mark Owen. Penguin’s publisher Dutton said he used a pen name and changed the names of other SEAL members for security reasons, according to the New York Times.

A description of the book provided by the publisher says the author gives a “blow-by-blow narrative of the assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended Owen’s life straight through to the radio call confirming Bin Laden’s death”. It describes the book as “an essential piece of modern history”.

Owen also recalls his childhood in Alaska, the gruelling preparation to become a member of the SEALs and his other previously unreported SEAL missions. He has completed 13 combat deployments since the attacks of Sept 11, 2001, and he retired within the past year.

A co-writer, Kevin Maurer, is the author of four books and was embedded with Special Forces in Afghanistan six times.

The Times said: “Penguin officials would not address whether they sought approval to publish the material from any government agencies.”

A closely held secret within Penguin, the publishing house that is planning to release it, the book promises to be one of the biggest titles of the year, with the potential to rattle the presidential campaign in the final weeks before the Nov 6 election.

The newspaper said the book could get caught up in the politically charged arena of the presidential campaign, similar to what occurred with another planned account of the raid, a film by Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal called “Zero Dark Thirty”.

That film was originally scheduled for release in October, but was moved to December after Republicans said it would help dramatise one of the president’s signature achievements right before the election.

The project also prompted complaints from some Republicans that the administration had provided improper access about the raid to the filmmakers, an accusation the White House denied.

The newspaper says “No Easy Day” joins a crop of books by other former members of the Navy SEALs who have turned their experiences into literary drama and landed coveted spots on bestseller lists. Last year, Chuck Pfarrer, a former SEAL commander, wrote “SEAL Target Geronimo”, an account of the Bin Laden raid based on interviews with members of the Navy SEALs.

The publisher is expecting a major bestseller, with a planned print run of 300,000 copies in hardcover.

Because the book is written under a pseudonym, the author will appear in disguise during television interviews to promote the book, and his voice will be altered. At least one major network primetime appearance has been planned, a publishing executive familiar with the plans said.

In August 2011, The New Yorker published an account of the raid that was so detailed it included information about what the pilot of a Black Hawk helicopter was thinking as the aircraft was on the verge of crashing. That article relied on interviews with officials who had debriefed members of the SEAL team, not with the individuals themselves.