In this image from video released by the CIA, Hamza bin Laden is seen as an adult at his wedding. The never-before-seen video of Osama bin Laden鈥檚 son and potential successor was released Nov. 1, 2017, by the CIA in a trove of material recovered during the May 2011 raid that killed the al-Qaida leader at his compound in Pakistan. The one hourlong video shows Hamza bin Laden, sporting a trimmed mustache but no beard, at his wedding. He is sitting on a carpet with other men. (CIA via AP)
WASHINGTON鈥擭ever-before-seen video of Osama bin Laden鈥檚 son and potential successor was released Wednesday by the CIA in a trove of material recovered during the May 2011 raid that killed the al-Qaida leader at his compound in Pakistan.
The video offers the first public look at Hamza bin Laden as an adult. Until now, the public has only seen childhood pictures of him.
In recent years, al-Qaida has released audio messages from Hamza bin Laden. And to mark a recent anniversary of 9/11, al-Qaida superimposed a childhood photo of him over a photo of the World Trade Center. He is expected to rise to prominence in the jihadist movement and is being closely watched as the rival Islamic State organization suffers setbacks in the Middle East.
One hour-long video shows Hamza bin Laden, sporting a trimmed mustache but no beard, at his wedding. He is sitting on a carpet with other men. A man chanting Quranic verses can be heard in the background. Sporting a traditional white headdress, he verbally accepts his marriage to his bride 鈥渙n the book of God and the example of the prophet. Peace be upon him.鈥�
鈥淭akbeer!鈥� the others shout, marking his marriage with a kind of religious hooray.
It was the fourth trove of documents, images and computer files recovered during the raid of bin Laden鈥檚 compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Earlier materials were released in May 2015, March 2016 and in January of this year.
READ: US puts bin Laden鈥檚 son on terror blacklist
The CIA said the nearly 470,000 additional files offer insights into the inner workings of the terrorist organization responsible for 9/11 and detail its clashes with the Islamic State group, a spin-off of al-Qaida鈥檚 operation in Iraq. They also shed light on hardships that al-Qaida faced at the time of bin Laden鈥檚 death.
Included is a 228-page, handwritten personal journal of bin Laden and about 79,000 images and audio files, including practice reels of public speeches. Also released were home videos and more than 10,000 video files, including the one of Hamza bin Laden鈥檚 wedding.
After shouts of congratulations, the video moves to another location where the groom and others are sitting on a red carpet dotted with bowls of bananas and apples, bottles of cola, sweets and tea. The groom smiles nervously, revealing his dimples. Osama bin Laden is not seen, but a man notes that the 鈥渇ather of the groom, the prince of the mujahedeen鈥� is overjoyed about his son鈥檚 marriage and his happiness will 鈥渟pread to all the mujahedeen.鈥�
At one point, a man stands up and offers a lengthy quiz on the history of Quranic verse, largely for the benefit of young boys in the group who compete to answer the questions. Red heart-shaped balloons decorate the room and in a second video of the wedding, the boys play a rough game of indoor soccer while the adults cheer.
Also included in the material is information about how al-Qaida planned to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the network鈥檚 work to spread its message through Western media; the group鈥檚 effort to exploit the Arab uprisings in 2011; bin Laden鈥檚 quest to keep his organization together amid disagreements over beliefs and operational tactics; and the organization鈥檚 work to burnish its image with fellow Muslims amid negative media.
There are still materials that have not yet been released. The CIA said this includes materials that are sensitive to national security; those protected by copyright; pornography; malware; and blank, corrupted and duplicate files.
Not all the material, however, was of a serious nature. There was a video known as 鈥淐harlie bit my finger!鈥� depicting a boy and his baby brother who bit his finger. There also were YouTube videos about crochet, including 鈥淗ow to Crochet a Flower.鈥�
And bin Laden鈥檚 video collection included 鈥淎ntz,鈥� a 1990s animated adventure comedy about an ant colony, 鈥淐hicken Little鈥� and 鈥淭he Three Musketeers.鈥� Also in the collection were 鈥淲here in the World is Osama bin Laden鈥� and several National Geographic programs: 鈥淜ung Fu Killers,鈥� 鈥滻nside the Green Berets鈥� and 鈥淲orld鈥檚 Worst Venom.鈥� /jpv