Osama Bin Laden files released
The CIA has releases nearly 470,000 additional files recovered in the May 2011 Raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound.
The material contains audio, document, image, video, and software operating system files. The material is posted in the original Arabic and in as close to the original form as possible, modified only so the files cannot be edited. Among other things, this release includes:
- Usama Bin Ladin’s personal journal and more than 18,000 document files.
- Approximately 79,000 audio and image files, which include practice reels for public speeches, audio correspondence, and imagery gathered or generated by al-Qa‘ida for a variety of purposes.
- More than 10,000 video files, which include a video of Hamza Bin Ladin as a young adult, al-Qa‘ida “home videos,” draft videos or statements by Usama Bin Ladin, and jihadist propaganda.
The materials, known as the Abbottabad Collection, can be accessed from: https://www.cia.gov/library/abbottabad-compound, although the site seems to be down at present due to a technical issue.
There was a previous release of Bin Laden documentation, this is accessible from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence: https://www.dni.gov/index.php/features/bin-laden-s-bookshelf.
The full press release is available from the CIA website. This is not a full release of all material- and the press release includes details of some of the copyrighted material it was not possible to release into the public domain.