Bin Laden was bent on spectacular US attack, reveal files

Documents declassified today shed light on the mindset of al-Qaeda's founder and his fixation with the group's media image

Hunkered down in his Pakistani compound, Osama bin Laden pleaded with his followers to stay focused on attacking the US instead of being dragged into Muslim infighting.

Documents declassified today shed new light on the mindset of al-Qaeda's founder, his debates over tactics, his anxiety over Western spying and his fixation with the group's media image.

"The focus should be on killing and fighting the American people and their representatives," Bin Laden wrote in one of the newly revealed documents.

The letter was among thousands of files found by US Navy SEALs on May 2, 2011 when they descended on Bin Laden's hideout in the garrison town of Abbottabad and shot him dead.

US intelligence agencies have now declassified more than 100 of these documents taken from Bin Laden's archive, after lawmakers ordered the move and critics accused the CIA of withholding material.

AFP was given exclusive access to the documents in advance of their release.

Jeff Anchukaitis, spokesman for the US Director of National Intelligence's office, said the release of "a sizeable tranche of documents recovered during the raid" was in keeping with President Barack Obama's call for "increased transparency."

It was also in accordance with a law obliging the spy agencies to review all the Bin Laden materials for possible release, he said

The documents are CIA translations of the originals in English, and AFP had no way to independently verify the materials or the accuracy of the translation.

The release came shortly after US journalist Seymour Hersh alleged that Washington's official account of the hunt for Bin Laden and the raid that led to his death was a lie.

But CIA spokesman Ryan Trapani said the declassification had been long planned and had not been intended as a response to Hersh's report.

From the strategic and theological discussions to the mundane details of domestic funding and security measures, the documents show the man behind 9/11 preoccupied with once again attacking the West in a spectacular fashion.

Mindful of drone strikes taking out senior leaders, Bin Laden frequently refers to security headaches and advises against communicating by email.