The Real Captain Majed in Bin Laden’s Hideout

Former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is seen in this still image taken from a video released on September 12, 2011.
Former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is seen in this still image taken from a video released on September 12, 2011.
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The Real Captain Majed in Bin Laden’s Hideout

Former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is seen in this still image taken from a video released on September 12, 2011.
Former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is seen in this still image taken from a video released on September 12, 2011.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has revealed 470,000 documents, including audio and video files, as well as documents found in the last hideout of Al-Qaeda leader and founder, Osama bin Laden, before he was killed in Pakistan's Abbottabad.

The documents highlight the passion of the man, who topped the US list of the most wanted persons, for documentaries and funny videos, as well as footage of television programs and cartoons.

Among the files found in bin Laden’s hideout is a video clip titled, “The Real Captain Majed”, which shows extracts from behind the scenes of the production of the famous Japanese cartoon series. Another video clip entitled, “Osama Al-Muwallad shoots the photographer” depicts how the former Saudi Ittihad player Osama al-Muwallad attacked one of the TV photographers during a match in his club.

Documents revealed by the CIA have also shown letters, in which Bin Laden asked for information about “jihad in Turkey”. Written files included dozens of books by Ibn Taymiyyah, along with a lecture by a hardline preacher.

The documents also emphasized Bin Laden’s great interest in the suicide bombings in Iraq between 2005 and 2006.

The Guardian quoted the CIA as saying that it had released the files “in the interest of transparency and to enhance public understanding of al-Qaida and [bin Laden].”

One 19-page document describes an offer by Iran to provide al-Qaeda with “money, arms” and “training in Hezbollah camps in Lebanon, in exchange for striking American interests in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf”, according to the Guardian, quoting The Long War Journal, a US-based website, which has received some material in advance and reported that the documents give new details of the terrorist group’s relationship with Iran.

The documents confirmed the previously reported visits by Osama bin Laden to Western countries, including his visit to Britain as a teenager for treatment, when he said that he discovered that the West community was “a morally loose society”. He returned the following year for study, spending about 10 weeks in Oxford to study English.



Fuel to Air India Jet Engines Cut Off Moments Before Crash, Finds Probe

A firefighter stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, in Ahmedabad, India, June 13, 2025. (Reuters)
A firefighter stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, in Ahmedabad, India, June 13, 2025. (Reuters)
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Fuel to Air India Jet Engines Cut Off Moments Before Crash, Finds Probe

A firefighter stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, in Ahmedabad, India, June 13, 2025. (Reuters)
A firefighter stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, in Ahmedabad, India, June 13, 2025. (Reuters)

Fuel control switches to the engines of an Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 260 people, were moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position moments before impact, a preliminary investigation report said early Saturday.

The report, issued by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame for the June 12 disaster, but indicated that one pilot asked the other why he cut off fuel, and the second pilot responded that he had not.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was headed from Ahmedabad in western India to London when it crashed, killing all but one of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground.

In its 15-page report, the investigation bureau said that once the aircraft achieved its top recorded speed, "the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec".

"In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," it said.

The aircraft quickly began to lose altitude.

The switches then returned to the "RUN" position and the engines appeared to be gathering power, but "one of the pilots transmitted 'MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY'", the report said.

Air traffic controllers asked the pilots what was wrong, but then saw the plane crashing and called emergency personnel to the scene.

- Investigation ongoing -

Earlier this week, specialist website The Air Current, citing multiple sources familiar with the probe, reported it had "narrowed its focus to the movement of the engine fuel switches", while noting that full analysis will "take months -- if not longer".

It added that "the focus of the investigators could change during that time".

The Indian agency's report said that the US Federal Aviation Administration had issued an information bulletin in 2018 about "the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature".

Though the concern was not considered an "unsafe condition" that would warrant a more serious directive, Air India told investigators it did not carry out suggested inspections as they were "advisory and not mandatory".

Air India was compliant with all airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins on the aircraft, the report said.

The investigations bureau said there were "no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers", suggesting no technical issues with the engines (GE) or the aircraft (Boeing).

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The bureau said the investigation was ongoing, and that additional evidence and information has been "sought from the stakeholders".

The UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) stipulates that states heading investigation must submit a preliminary report within 30 days of an accident.

US and British air accident investigators have taken part in the probe.

The plane was carrying 230 passengers -- 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian -- along with 12 crew members.

Dozens of people on the ground were injured.

One passenger miraculously survived, a British citizen who was seen walking out of the wreckage of the crash, and who has since been discharged from hospital.

Health officials in the Indian state of Gujarat initially said at least 279 people were killed, but forensic scientists reduced the figure after multiple scattered and badly burnt remains were identified.