{"id":67139,"date":"2017-11-03T01:57:42","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T01:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/11\/03\/bin-laden-files-back-up-us-claims-on-iran-ties-to-al-qaida\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:28:09","slug":"bin-laden-files-back-up-us-claims-on-iran-ties-to-al-qaida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/11\/03\/bin-laden-files-back-up-us-claims-on-iran-ties-to-al-qaida\/","title":{"rendered":"Bin Laden files back up US claims on Iran ties to al-Qaida"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A computer recovered in the 2011 U.S. special forces operation that killed Osama bin Laden contained a video collection. It included kids\u2019 cartoons, several Hollywood movies and three documentaries about himself.\nThe list of the videos was included in the release on Wednesday by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. They released nearly 470,000 files found on the computer seized in the May 2, 2011, U.S. raid on the al Qaeda founder\u2019s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.\nSince May 2015, 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 U.S. government.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates \u2014 The CIA\u2019s release of documents seized during the 2011 raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden appears to bolster U.S. claims that Iran supported the extremist network leading up to the Sept. 11 terror attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. intelligence officials and prosecutors have long said Iran formed loose ties to the terror organization from 1991 on, something noted in a 19-page al-Qaida report in Arabic that was included in the release of some 47,000 other documents by the CIA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For its part, Iran has long denied any involvement with al-Qaida. However, the report included in the CIA document dump shows how bin Laden, a Sunni extremist from Iran\u2019s archrival Saudi Arabia, could look across the Muslim world\u2019s religious divide to partner with the Mideast\u2019s Shiite power to target his ultimate enemy, the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnyone who wants to strike America, Iran is ready to support him and help him with their frank and clear rhetoric,\u201d the report reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Associated Press examined a copy of the report released by the Long War Journal, a publication backed by the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank fiercely critical of Iran and skeptical of its nuclear deal with world powers. The CIA gave the Long War Journal early access to the material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The material also included never-before-seen video of bin Laden\u2019s son Hamza, who may be groomed to take over al-Qaida, getting married. It offers the first public look at Hamza bin Laden as an adult. Until now, the public has only seen childhood pictures of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The release comes as President Donald Trump has refused to recertify Iran\u2019s nuclear deal with world powers and faces domestic pressure at home over investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 19-page report included in the CIA release was available online Wednesday. The CIA later issued a warning about the files on its website, saying that since the material \u201cwas seized from a terrorist organization … there is no absolute guarantee that all malware has been removed.\u201d The CIA then took down the files entirely early Thursday, saying they were \u201ctemporarily unavailable pending resolution of a technical issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are working to make the material available again as soon as possible,\u201d the CIA said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t