Osama Bin Laden raid documents show life inside Al Qaeda
The latest batch of declassified documents taken during the 2011 Pakistan raid that killed Osama Bin Laden show a fascinating insight into life inside Al Qaeda.
The intelligence treasure trove of information includes an 'application form' to join the terror organisation.
This remarkable document looks like a typical form that an applicant would expect to fill it at a professional organisation, even imploring candidates to enter "the required information accurately and truthfully."
After standard information like date-of-birth and next of kin details, the form takes a sinister turn, asking questions such as: "Do you wish to execute a suicide operation?" and "Who should we contact in case you become a martyr?"
The papers were taken in the Navy Seals raid that killed bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, and include a tender letter to his wife.
A US translation of the letter reads: "Know that you do fill my heart with love, beautiful memories, and your long-suffering of tense situations in order to appease me and be kind to me, and every time I thought of you, my eyes would tear for being away from you."
Bin Laden also had a hoard of English language publications and books, including journals on US military policy and diplomacy, as well as books from highly-respected academic Noam Chomsky and US investigative reporter Bob Woodward.
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Other documents show that years on the run had caused the Al-Qaeda leader to obsess over the technological prowess of Western spies.
Releases also reveal that Bin Laden planned a PR campaign to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, but he didn't live to see that date.
The documents, published to the public today by intelligence officials, also show that Bin Laden was planning on launching attacks on the West until his demise at the hands of US Special Forces.