WASHINGTON
The U.S. on Wednesday released a portion of documents it says was taken from Osama Bin Laden's archive, seized during a 2011 raid in Pakistan that killed the al Qaeda leader.
The 103 documents include bin Laden's communications with sons, daughters and wives; other al Qaeda leaders and a digital collection of English-language books.
Some of the books included Obama's Wars,by famed political reporter Bob Woodward; Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower, by William Bum and two books by renowned political commentator and linguist Noam Chomsky.
It also included publications by extremist groups, media articles and studies released by various think tanks.
“The release, which followed a rigorous interagency review, aligns with the president’s call for increased transparency–consistent with national security prerogatives", the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a statement.
The release of the documents follows an article earlier this month by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh who claims the Obama administration and top Pakistani army generals "assassinated" bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistani, under a mutually-agreed plan.
Hersh said U.S. Navy Seals had not engaged in a heroic firefight to kill the al Qaeda leader as purported by administration officials, but in fact, bin Laden was believed to be unarmed and was likely an old cripple when he was shot dead.
The U.S. says the intelligence community will continue to review documents recovered from the bin Laden compound and possibly declassify and release more files if their disclosure will not hamper current operations against al Qaeda or its affiliates.
