Osama Bin Laden Death Photos May Be Released

Photographs and video recordings of Osama bin Laden's death may be released to the public, The Atlantic Wire reports.

According to ABC News, the CIA has at least 52 images of Osama bin Laden that could make one's stomach churn. The images in question reportedly are "quite graphic, as they depict the fatal bullet wound to UBL's [Osama bin Laden's] head and other similarly gruesome images of his corpse."

Following bin Laden's death, Judicial Watch brought a lawsuit demanding the release of images from the raid that killed bin Laden under the Freedom of Information Act. Now, it appears that the Justice Department may have to comply in part.

Dan Metcalfe, former director of the Department of Justice's Office of Information and Privacy, told The Atlantic Wire that according to the government's response to the lawsuit, there are parts of the records that are "legally required to be disclosed."

This reopens that possibility that postmortem photographs of bin Laden will be released.

Wired.com notes that the CIA, for its part, claims that releasing the photos "could trigger violence, attacks, or acts of revenge against the United States."

Last May, a team of US Navy SEALs raided Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, killing the then-Al Qaeda leader and several others during a nighttime operation.

Osama bin Laden was buried at sea in accordance with Muslim traditions, according to the White House. Egyptian lawyer Montasser el-Zayat noted last May that the burial prevented bin Laden's grave from becoming a shrine for his followers.

"They don't want to see him become a symbol," he said, according to The Guardian. "But he is already a symbol in people's hearts."

Last May, the Department of Defense released images of bin Laden's compound. Below, see some of the interesting discoveries made on the premises: