CIA releases materials seized in bin Laden raid

Movies, games, journal found in cache

A computer recovered in the 2011 US special forces operation that killed Osama bin Laden contained a video collection that included kids’ cartoons, several Hollywood movies and three documentaries about himself.

The list of the videos was included in the release on Wednesday by the US Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA) of nearly 470,000 files found on the computer seized in the May 2, 2011, US raid on the Al Qaeda founder’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

It is the fourth tranche of materials taken from the walled compound where bin Laden and his family lived to be made public by the US government since May 2015.

Materials that still have not been released are being withheld because they could harm national security, are blank, corrupted or duplicate files, are pornographic or are protected by copyright, said a CIA statement.

The copyright- protected materials include more than two dozen videos such as Antz, Cars and other animated films, the role- playing game Final Fantasy VII and Where in the World is Osama bin Laden and two other documentaries about the Al Qaeda leader, the CIA 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 organization,” said CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

“[ The] CIA will continue to seek opportunities to share information with the American people consistent with our obligation to protect national security.”

The materials include bin Laden’s personal journal and 18,000 document files, about 79,000 audio and image files and more than 10,000 video files, the CIA said.

The CIA said that the materials, like those released in the past, provide insights into the origins of the differences between Al Qaeda and Islamic State, disagreements within Al Qaeda and its allies, and the problems Al Qaeda faced at the time of bin Laden’s death.

The Al Qaeda leader was killed in the May 2011 raid by US Navy SEALs after nearly 10 years in hiding following the 9/ 11 attacks. Bin Laden narrowly escaped from Afghanistan over the border into Pakistan as US and allied Afghan forces pursued him in the mountains of Tora Bora in December 2001.