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.



Iran Attack on Qatar Air Base Hit Geodesic Dome Used for US Communications, Satellite Photos Show

This handout photo from the US Air Force shows Lt. Col. Carlos Alford, 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron commander, in front of the Modernized Enterprise Terminal at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Jan. 21, 2016. (Master Sgt. Joshua Strang/U.S. Air Force via AP)
This handout photo from the US Air Force shows Lt. Col. Carlos Alford, 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron commander, in front of the Modernized Enterprise Terminal at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Jan. 21, 2016. (Master Sgt. Joshua Strang/U.S. Air Force via AP)
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Iran Attack on Qatar Air Base Hit Geodesic Dome Used for US Communications, Satellite Photos Show

This handout photo from the US Air Force shows Lt. Col. Carlos Alford, 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron commander, in front of the Modernized Enterprise Terminal at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Jan. 21, 2016. (Master Sgt. Joshua Strang/U.S. Air Force via AP)
This handout photo from the US Air Force shows Lt. Col. Carlos Alford, 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron commander, in front of the Modernized Enterprise Terminal at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Jan. 21, 2016. (Master Sgt. Joshua Strang/U.S. Air Force via AP)

An Iranian attack on an air base in Qatar that's key to the US military hit a geodesic dome housing equipment used by the Americans for secure communications, satellite images analyzed Friday by The Associated Press show.

Hours after the publication of this AP report, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell acknowledged that an Iranian ballistic missile had hit the dome. Qatar did not respond to requests for comment about the damage.

The Iranian attack on Al Udeid Air Base outside of Doha, Qatar's capital, on June 23 came as a response to the American bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran — and provided Iran a way to retaliate that quickly led to a ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump ending the 12-day Iran-Israel war.

The Iranian attack otherwise did little damage — likely because of the fact that the US evacuated its aircraft from the base, which is home to the forward headquarters of the US military's Central Command, before the attack.

Trump also has said that Iran signaled when and how it would retaliate, allowing American and Qatari air defense to be ready for the attack, which briefly disrupted air travel in the Middle East, but otherwise didn't tip over into the regional war long feared by analysts.

Images show burn marks, dome gone after attack

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC show the geodesic dome visible at the Al Udeid Air Base on the morning of June 23, just hours before the attack.

The US Air Force's 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, which operates out of the base, announced in 2016 the installation of the $15 million piece of equipment, known as a modernized enterprise terminal. Photos show a satellite dish inside of the dome, known as a radome.

Images taken June 25 and every day subsequently show the dome is gone, with some damage visible on a nearby building. The rest of the base appears largely untouched in the images.