Osama bin Laden's home movies: CIA’s astonishing footage shows terror chief's children using guns to shoot water balloons and playing outside while he was the world’s most wanted man

  • Astonishing videos of Osama bin Laden’s family life in hiding have been revealed by the CIA 
  • Show his children and grandchildren playing in the open despite him being the world’s most wanted man
  • One raw video shot inside the compound shows a barn with animals including cows, chickens, and cats
  • Toddlers and infants are seen playing on swings in the courtyard while they are filmed
  • Material was taken from a computer recovered in the 2011 US special forces operation that killed bin Laden
  • The videos were finally released six-and-a-half years after the dramatic raid which ended the mystery of where he was
  • One of the clips offers never-before-seen video of Osama bin Laden's son and potential successor, Hamza bin Laden, who is seen for the first time as an adult

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Astonishing videos of Osama bin Laden’s family life in hiding have been revealed by the CIA - showing his children and grandchildren playing in the open despite him being the world’s most wanted man.

One video shows never-before-seen footage of bin Laden's son and potential successor, Hamza bin Laden, as an adult.

The home videos were seized from his Abbottabad compound after Seal Team Six stormed it and killed the 9/11 mastermind.

They were finally released six-and-a-half years after the dramatic raid.

The videos show an apparently normal and happy family and betray little of the fear they were supposed to be living in.

Inevitably they will raise more questions over whether bin Laden had official help from some quarters of the Pakistani government to stay hidden from the CIA for almost a decade.

One raw video shot inside the compound shows a sizable barn with animals including cows, chickens, and cats.

The video starts with a shot of a baby calf being nursed by a mother cow.

It then shows a scene of tranquility where hens and roosters wander about in the barnyard while a female cat cares for her litter of kittens in a tiny space behind two trash bins.

There is even a cage full of rabbits and another pen reserved for chickens who are eating – not the setting one would expect would be home to a notorious arch-terrorist.

Astonishing videos of Osama bin Laden’s family life in hiding have been revealed by the CIA; In one scene, an old man with a white beard, headdress, and a robe resembling Bin Laden is seen instructing two young boys on how to shoot what appears to be a toy gun

Astonishing videos of Osama bin Laden’s family life in hiding have been revealed by the CIA; In one scene, an old man with a white beard, headdress, and a robe resembling Bin Laden is seen instructing two young boys on how to shoot what appears to be a toy gun

Toddlers and infants are seen playing on swings in the courtyard while they are filmed

Toddlers and infants are seen playing on swings in the courtyard while they are filmed

This girl appears to not have a care in the world as she plays on a swing in the compound courtyard

This girl appears to not have a care in the world as she plays on a swing in the compound courtyard

Most of the children are wearing traditional Pakistani garb while some are in regular T-shirts as they play indoors

Most of the children are wearing traditional Pakistani garb while some are in regular T-shirts as they play indoors

The CIA also released a video showing young children frolicking about at home.

Toddlers and infants are seen playing on swings in the courtyard while they are filmed.

A young boy who appears no older than seven years of age is seen reciting sentences in Arabic.

Most of the children are wearing traditional Pakistani garb while some are in regular T-shirts as they play indoors.

The CIA released a video showing young children being doted on and frolicking at the home

The CIA released a video showing young children being doted on and frolicking at the home

Another toddler is seen wearing a shirt with what appears to be a cartoon printed on it

Another toddler is seen wearing a shirt with what appears to be a cartoon printed on it

A young boy who appears no older than seven years of age is seen reciting sentences in Arabic

A young boy who appears no older than seven years of age is seen reciting sentences in Arabic

The same boy is seen in the above up-close shot wearing a knitted hat while peering intently into the camera

The same boy is seen in the above up-close shot wearing a knitted hat while peering intently into the camera

Although bin Laden declared war on the West, the inhabitants of the compound still used cell phones. A computer hard drive was seen in one of the rooms, and Western pop music can be heard playing in the background as a young boy (above) fiddles with a mobile device

Although bin Laden declared war on the West, the inhabitants of the compound still used cell phones. A computer hard drive was seen in one of the rooms, and Western pop music can be heard playing in the background as a young boy (above) fiddles with a mobile device

This young boy is seen in the playground of the compound in Abbottabad while looking straight into the camera

This young boy is seen in the playground of the compound in Abbottabad while looking straight into the camera

The infant seemed to be enjoying himself as he plays with a relative inside the home

The infant seemed to be enjoying himself as he plays with a relative inside the home

In one scene, an old man with a white beard, headdress, and a robe is seen instructing two young boys on how to shoot what appears to be a toy gun.

In the next scene, children are filmed as they play on a slide.

The video also shows footage of a baby girl who appears no older than five months of age.

The footage indicates that although bin Laden declared war on the West, the inhabitants of the compound still used cell phones.

BIN LADEN'S COLLECTION INCLUDED DISNEY'S 'CARS' AND 'WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN'

Among the videos found at the compound was the Morgan Spurlock documentary, 'Where in the World is Osama bin Laden' 

Among the videos found at the compound was the Morgan Spurlock documentary, 'Where in the World is Osama bin Laden' 

The trove of files released by the CIA consists of objects like bin Laden's journal as well as a number of American movies the terrorist had on hand, including the 2008 Morgan Spurlock documentary, 'Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?' and the Disney film, 'Cars.'

Because of copyright issues, the CIA couldn't release some of the content found in the compound – so instead released a list that included the many American films the terrorist kept on hand.

Besides the Spurlock documentary, bin Laden also had the Biography channel's film about himself along with 'CNN Presents: World's Most Wanted.'

The latter film debuted in 2006 and featured the world's top three most-wanted terrorists: bin Laden, his No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri, and al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqaw, who was killed the same year.

Another CNN film from 2006, 'In the Footsteps of bin Laden,' was also among the terrorist's trove.

Bin Laden also had a number of kids' films including Antz, Batman Gotham Knight, Cars, Chicken Little, Marvel's Heroes of Tomorrow, Home on the Range, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and The Three Musketeers.

He had the video games Final Fantasy VII and Resident Evil. And a copy of the Chinese animated film, Storm Rider Clash of the Evils.

The terrorist, who couldn't leave the confines of his compound without putting his life in danger, had a number of films about other places, including Peru Civilization, The Kremlin from Inside and The Story of India.

Bin Laden had a collection of National Geographic films too, along with a copy of the BBC's Great Wildlife Moments.

The CIA said it also did not release any pornography found.

It also appears Bin Laden was a fan of retro gaming as data recovered from his computer hard drive contained save files from a number of Nintendo video games in the Mario series.

Save games from New Super Mario Bros, Yoshi Island and Mario and Luigi - Adventures In Time were all discovered.

Save game files for several Nintendo titles in the Mario series were also found on Bin Laden's personal computer

Save game files for several Nintendo titles in the Mario series were also found on Bin Laden's personal computer

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One segment shows snowfall accumulating at the compound, while another shot shows a rainbow emerging from the horizon outside the facility’s walls

One segment shows snowfall accumulating at the compound, while another shot shows a rainbow emerging from the horizon outside the facility’s walls

A computer hard drive was seen in one of the rooms, and Western pop music can be heard playing in the background as a young boy fiddles with a mobile device.

Another clip released by the CIA shows footage of the surrounding areas of the compound during the different seasons.

One segment shows snowfall accumulating at the compound, while another shot shows a rainbow emerging from the horizon outside the facility’s walls.

Another video offers the first public look at Hamza bin Laden as an adult. Until now, the public has only seen childhood pictures of him.

In recent years, Al Qaeda has released audio messages from Hamza bin Laden. 

And to mark a recent anniversary of 9/11, Al Qaeda superimposed a childhood photo of him over a photo of the World Trade Center. 

He is expected to rise to prominence in the jihadist movement and is being closely watched as the rival Islamic State organization suffers setbacks in the Middle East.

One hour-long video shows Hamza bin Laden, sporting a trimmed mustache but no beard, at his wedding. He is sitting on a carpet with other men. 

A man chanting Koranic verses can be heard in the background. 

Another video offers the first public look at Hamza bin Laden, Osama bin Laden's son, as an adult. Until now, the public has only seen childhood pictures of him

Another video offers the first public look at Hamza bin Laden, Osama bin Laden's son, as an adult. Until now, the public has only seen childhood pictures of him

In recent years, Al Qaeda has released audio messages from Hamza bin Laden, who was thought to be groomed by his father to succeed him as head of the jihadist terror network

In recent years, Al Qaeda has released audio messages from Hamza bin Laden, who was thought to be groomed by his father to succeed him as head of the jihadist terror network

An hour-long video shows Hamza bin Laden, sporting a trimmed mustache but no beard, at his wedding. He is sitting on a carpet with other men

An hour-long video shows Hamza bin Laden, sporting a trimmed mustache but no beard, at his wedding. He is sitting on a carpet with other men

Sporting a traditional white headdress, he verbally accepts his marriage to his bride 'on the book of God and the example of the prophet. Peace be upon him.'

'Takbeer!' the others shout, marking his marriage with a kind of religious hooray. 

The material was taken from a computer recovered in the 2011 US special forces operation that killed bin Laden.

The hard drive contained a video collection that included kids’ cartoons, several Hollywood movies and three documentaries about himself.

The list of the videos was included in the release on Wednesday by the CIA of nearly 470,000 files found on the computer seized in the May 2, 2011, US raid on the Al Qaeda founder’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

It is the fourth tranche of materials taken from the walled compound where bin Laden and his family lived to be made public by the US government since May 2015.

One of the videos shows a scene of tranquility where hens and roosters wander about in the barnyard

One of the videos shows a scene of tranquility where hens and roosters wander about in the barnyard

Down on the farm: The video starts with a shot of a baby calf being nursed by a mother cow

Down on the farm: The video starts with a shot of a baby calf being nursed by a mother cow

There is even a cage full of rabbits and another pen reserved for chickens who are eating – not the setting one would expect would be home to a notorious arch-terrorist

There is even a cage full of rabbits and another pen reserved for chickens who are eating – not the setting one would expect would be home to a notorious arch-terrorist

Materials that still have not been released are being withheld because they could harm national security, are blank, corrupted or duplicate files, are pornographic or are protected by copyright, said a CIA statement.

Bin Laden (seen above in 2001) was eventually killed by SEAL Team Six in 2011 after 10 years in hiding

Bin Laden (seen above in 2001) was eventually killed by SEAL Team Six in 2011 after 10 years in hiding

The copyright-protected materials include more than two dozen videos such as Antz, Cars and other animated films, the role-playing game Final Fantasy VII and Where in the World is Osama bin Laden and two other documentaries about the Al Qaeda leader, the CIA said.

‘Today’s release of recovered Al Qaeda letters, videos, audio files and other materials provides the opportunity for the American people to gain further insights into the plans and workings of this terrorist organization,’ said CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

‘CIA will continue to seek opportunities to share information with the American people consistent with our obligation to protect national security.’

The materials released on Wednesday are posted on line - here - in their original Arabic.

They include bin Laden’s personal journal and 18,000 document files, about 79,000 audio and image files and more than 10,000 video files, the CIA said.

The CIA said that the materials, like those released in the past, provide insights into the origins of the differences between Al Qaeda and Islamic State, disagreements within Al Qaeda and its allies, and the problems Al Qaeda faced at the time of bin Laden’s death. 

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