Bin Laden was shot dead and his computer was taken during a raid by the US military in in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad in 2011.
On Wednesday, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released over 300 gigabytes of never-seen-before files, images and videos belonging to bin Laden.
This is the fourth tranche of files discovered in a walled compound in Pakistan where the terrorist leader was killed on May 2, 2011.
CIA director Mike Pompeo said: “Today’s release of recovered Al-Qaeda letters, videos, audio files and other materials provides the opportunity for the American people to gain further insights into the plans and workings of this terrorist organisation.
“CIA will continue to seek opportunities to share information with the American people consistent with our obligation to protect national security.”
Where to find and download the bin laden Files?
The dump of 470,000 files, on top of previous releases, is publicly accessible on the official website of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
The ODNI said: “In the weeks following the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by United States forces, US Intelligence Community analysts sifted through the recovered digital and hard copy materials in search of clues that would reveal ongoing Al-Qaeda plots, identities and locations of Al-Qaeda personnel, and other information of immediate importance.”
The so-called bin Laden’s Bookshelf is segregated into dozens of sub-sections across 14 web pages.
What is in the bin Laden files?
The declassified materials consists of 18,000 documents, 79,000 audio files and images as well as more than 10,000 video clips.
GETTY
Bin Laden files: The tapes reveal home reels of bin Laden’s family
Most of the records include Al-Qaeda propaganda and various terror plot plans. But the files also contain a bizarre number of animated films, crocheting instructions and viral YouTube videos.
Today’s release of recovered Al-Qaeda letters, videos, audio files and other materials provides the opportunity for the American people to gain further insights into the plans and workings of this terrorist organisation
Some of the most interesting files include documents pulled form bin Laden’s personal journal and his correspondence with other Jihadi leaders.
Many of the retrieved videos include ‘behind-the-scenes’ reels of bin laden practising for his infamous speeches.
A more unusually intimate recording includes a video of bin Laden’s son, Hamza bin Ladden, on his wedding day.
Osama bin Laden himself is not present in the video. But an unidentified man notes that the “father of the groom” was overcome with joy about his son’s marriage and his happiness will “spread to all the mujahedeen.”
Intelligence agencies are pinning Hamza bin Laden to become the next leader of the terror group.
The more bizarre clips include a recording of the viral ‘Charlie bit my finger’ YouTube sensation, and full-length Pixar and DreamWorks animations. This is most likely because bin Laden lived in hiding with several of his young children.
Bin Laden’s files also included documentaries such as ‘Where in the World is Osama bin Laden’, ‘BBC’s Great Wildlife Moments’, ‘National Geographic: Kung Fu Killers’ as well as video games such as ‘Resident Evil’ and ‘Final Fantasy VII’.
The CIA is still withholding many of the files on grounds of national security.
GETTY
The CIA discovered animated films and video games in bin Laden’s files
The intelligence agency said: “With today’s release, the information remaining in the Abbottabad collection that has not been released publicly includes materials that are sensitive such that their release would directly damage efforts to keep the nation secure; materials protected by copyright; pornography; malware; and blank, corrupted and duplicate files.”
Where were the files retrieved?
The records were recovered during a daring 2011 Navy SEALs operation in a walled-off compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The first tranche of the discovered files was made public on on May 20, 2015, followed by a second release on March 1, 2016 and third on January 19, 2017.