Osama bin Laden liked to watch himself on TV.
That’s one insight that can be gleaned from five home videos of the slain al-Qaeda leader released on Saturday by the Obama administration, part of a massive trove of information taken from bin Laden's home by U.S. intelligence forces.
Much of the video consists of outtakes from his recorded messages to his followers.
Read also: White House Won't Release Osama Bin Laden Death Photos
But one revealing snippet comes with Bin Laden, who was 54 when he was killed, watching himself on TV in his home. The angle is from behind, and the terrorist leader – holding a remote – has a mostly white beard.
The videos, some of which show Bin Laden rehearsing a speech, was released without audio in order not to further disseminate his message.
Citing an administration source, The New York Times wrote:
“Two of the videos consisted of outtakes from Bin Laden’s recorded messages to his followers — one in which the intelligence official said Bin Laden was misspeaking and having to start over and another in which he was said to miss a cue. The official said that in those videos, Bin Laden’s beard had been dyed black to make him appear younger.”
Navy SEALS removed from Bin Laden’s compound computer files, hard drives, videos, documents and personal papers in the wake of an operation that killed the terrorist leader last Monday.
The New York Times has more video here.
