Experts reveal Osama Bin Laden communicated with terrorists through 'coded messages in porn videos'

Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden may have communicated with his terrorist associates by hiding encrypted messages in porn videos, before he was killed by the US Navy SEALs in 2011, a new documentary series explores.

Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trades Centre in the US, was killed in Abbottabad in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, in an overnight raid.

The eyebrow-raising claim has been made in new National Geographic special, titled ‘Bin laden's Hard Drive’, which analyses the digital materials recovered at the slain Al-Qaeda's chief compound. The documentary will premiere on National Geographic on September 10.

US forces had recovered a collection of adult movies and erotic images from his possession that was described by officials as a ‘fairly extensive’ collection of modern, electronically recorded video at the time. The officials, however, refused to release the videos publicly and divulge what they contained.

The new documentary presented by CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen explores whether Laden was using porn videos as a tool for communicating with his associates.

Bergen, who was the first western journalist to interview Laden on TV, said that the slain terrorist's files left behind an imprint of a complex man, responsible for the murder of thousands of people.

“Exploring these hard drives, it’s clear that digital information can say a lot. History will remember him for that but, in order to cut through the perception of this ascetic in a cave on a holy crusade, it’s important for us to see how he crafted the videos that went out to his followers,” Bergen said.

“To read how his well-educated wives helped him write incendiary speeches. To watch as he inculcated his children and grandchildren into an ideology of hate leading to acts of violence against animals and the recitation of jihadist poetry. Understanding him is vital in order to combat other potential bin Ladens in the future,” he added.

The documentary also reveals that Laden used to issue instructions to his terrorist subordinates and communicate with the outside world through couriers as he was fearful of using email.

The infamous terrorist is also described in the special as a doting father, who reveled in nurturing his children and grandchildren for hope of a better world in the future. However, in a home movie purportedly shot by his grandson of a bird being shot and then callously kicked and prodded, he also raised them to be violent and rancorous.