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.
TT
20

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.



54 Migrants Rescued from Mediterranean Oil Platform

FILED - 31 May 2025, France, Gravelines: A group of people thought to be migrants onboard a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 31 May 2025, France, Gravelines: A group of people thought to be migrants onboard a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa
TT
20

54 Migrants Rescued from Mediterranean Oil Platform

FILED - 31 May 2025, France, Gravelines: A group of people thought to be migrants onboard a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa
FILED - 31 May 2025, France, Gravelines: A group of people thought to be migrants onboard a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France, attempting to reach the UK by crossing the English Channel. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/dpa

Over 50 migrants were headed to the Italian island of Lampedusa Sunday after a charity ship rescued them from an abandoned oil platform in the Mediterranean, where one woman gave birth.

The vessel Astral, operated by the Spain-based NGO Open Arms, rescued the 54 people overnight, the group said in a statement.

The migrants had been trapped on the oil platform for three days after their rubber boat shipwrecked following their departure from Libya on Tuesday, Open Arms said.

On Friday, one of the migrants gave birth to a boy, while another woman had given birth days before. Two other young children were among the group, Open Arms said, according to AFP.

Later Sunday, the charity said that, following the rescue of those on the oil platform, the Astral came upon another 109 people, including four people in the water.

That group, which included 10 children, had also departed from Libya, it said.
Open Arms said they provided life jackets to the migrants before they were rescued by another charity ship, the Louise Michel, which is sponsored by street artist Banksy.

The Louise Michel, a former French navy vessel, was transporting the migrants to a safe port in Sicily, Open Arms said.

It is not unusual for migrants crossing the Mediterranean on leaky and overcrowded boats to seek refuge on offshore oil platforms.

As of June 1, some 23,000 migrants had reached Italy by sea this year, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).