In his will, bin Laden wanted bulk of his money spent ‘on jihad’
WASHINGTON — In his handwritten will, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden claimed he had about $29 million in personal wealth — the bulk of which he wanted to be used “on jihad, for the sake of Allah.”
The will was released Tuesday in a batch of more than 100 documents seized in a May 2011 raid that killed bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The al- Qaida leader planned to divide his fortune among his relatives, but wanted most of it spent to conduct the work of the Islamic extremist terror network behind the Sept. 11 attacks.
The will did not disclose much detail about where he amassed his wealth, but bin Laden’s father ran a successful construction company in Saudi Arabia for years, and the will noted that $12 million was from his brother on behalf of the Bin Laden Co.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released the documents.
In a letter to one of his wives who had been living in Iran, bin Laden expressed worry that her visit to a dentist could have presented the Iranians an opportunity to implant a small chip under her skin, apparently as a tracking device: “Please let me know in detail … any suspicions that any of the brothers may have about chips planted in any way.” In another letter, addressed to “The Islamic Community in General,” bin Laden offered an upbeat assessment of progress in his holy war since 9/11 and of U.S. failings in Afghanistan.
The letter is undated but appears to have been written in 2010.
“Here we are in the tenth year of the war, and America and its allies are still chasing a mirage, lost at sea without a beach,” he wrote.
Shortly before his death, bin Laden hailed the overthrow and death of Libya’s strongman leader Moammar Gadhafi.
In a Feb. 25, 2011, letter addressed “to our people in Libya,” bin Laden said alQaida had triumphed over Gadhafi.
“Praise God, who made al-Qa’ida a great vexation upon him, squatting on his chest, enraging and embittering him, and who made al-Qa’ida a torment and exemplary punishment upon him, this truly vile hallucinating individual who troubles us in front of the world!” he wrote.