Thursday November 2, 2017
By Moses Michira
Osama Bin Laden - FILE PHOTO
Somalia-based militant group Al Shabaab regularly sought and received directions from Osama bin Laden, documents seized in a raid on his home six years ago have confirmed.
A prior analysis of the files indicated the power and control that the poster boy of terror had in life, with the specific information expected with further examination to help lift the lid of the secret underworld organisations.
Al Shabaab, which has staged many attacks on Kenya, is an off-shoot of Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda.
America’s Central Intelligence Agency CIA released part of the critical information on Wednesday, showing the mastermind of the August 7 bombing in downtown Nairobi was more powerful globally than earlier thought.
New insights would emerge about the bombing targeting the US Embassy in Nairobi where 213 people died with the two suicide bombers who drove the truck filled with explosives.
Nine suspects, including those involved in a similar attack in Dar es Salaam, have been convicted to long prison terms in the US.
It is likely that the now declassified information could yield more suspects in the twin bombings and for Kenya, revelations on how al Shabaab is recruiting new militants.
About 470,000 files including notes and videos, a huge cache that would take time to dig through, have been released and would be vital in understanding the working of terror groups and their connections.
Only a few of the files have been combed through yet, suggesting that a lot more would be unearthed about the life of the master terrorist over the next several years.
It would be possible to tell for the first time exactly how major incidents of terror were planned while revealing identities of the people involved. Hamza bin Laden, widely considered the successor of al Qaeda’s leadership, is seen as an adult for the first time in several photos and videos – including his wedding ceremony.
Younger Bin Laden is currently a senior official of the terror group, meaning he would be a man of interest among anti-terrorism agencies across the globe.
In one video thought to have been captured in 2008, the younger Bin Laden as a teenager is seen reciting a poem encouraging his father to be “firm and steadfast” with militants in the background.
And in another photo, an elderly man thought to be Bin Laden is seen instructing two toddlers to take aim and shoot at water-filled balloons using what appears to be a toy gun.
Several little children are captured playing together, some on slides while others on swings unaware that the man they knew as a doting grandfather was the most-wanted in the World.
Ideological war But it is several pieces of entertainment materials that may be baffling, considering Bin Laden’s opposition to anything considered Western in the ideological war he fronted.
Many movies including 2008 release called Where in the World is Osama bin Laden, and animation movies created by American companies such as Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, were made.
His hate for the US was amplified in the staged attack of September 2001 on several installations in the US, killing thousands.
Other documents recovered include Laden’s own journal written in Arabic which contained his daily entries, including people he communicated with.