Bin Laden Actively Controlled Al Qaeda

Osama bin Laden was still actively in control of al Qaeda at the time he was killed in his compound in Pakistan, US intelligence officials have said.

The claim was made as five videos seized at the secret hideout where the terror mastermind was shot dead were released by the Pentagon.

They show the al Qaeda leader rehearsing terrorist propaganda speeches and watching coverage of himself on TV.

In one video bin Laden is shown wrapped in a brown blanket and holding a remote control as he flicks back and forth between clips of himself.

In another he has noticeabley dyed his beard to eliminate the grey streaks and it is neatly trimmed as he rehearses a message.

The footage was seized from the Abbottabad compound where the 54-year-old was killed by US special forces nearly 10 years after the September 11 attacks.

An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the videos and other evidence found proves the compound was an "active command and control centre".

He said it was clear bin Laden "was not just a strategic thinker for the group" but was also involved in "operational planning" and "driving tactical decisions".

US security chiefs said the raid on the compound has provided them with their largest ever intelligence haul from a terrorist suspect.

They claimed that evidence includes phone numbers and documents which it hopes will help dismantle al Qaeda.

Osama bin Laden is shown watching footage of himself on TV

Defence Secretary Liam Fox has told he will travel to the US in two weeks' time for talks at the Pentagon and US Central Command in Florida on the implications for Britain of the seized intelligence.

"Clearly what it says is al Qaeda is still alive and well and still poses a threat not only to the UK but to all free countries in the world," he said.

"We do need to maintain our guard and we have to watch countries like the Yemen, which is slowly declining and possibly falling into a failed state, which of course would give a boost to al Qaeda.

"We have to keep up our guard in a lot of places and it is not an option for us.

"It is not as if we are saying 'Let's look for trouble'. Trouble is out there. We either have to deal with it at the point of origin or it is very likely to come and deal with us."

For many years intelligence officers believed that bin Laden was hidden in the mountains of Pakistan and did not have access to real-time news.

But after he was discovered in the suburbs of Abbottabad, they realised a satellite dish had provided a television feed to the compound.

The US are releasing five videos of the al Qaeda leader

The US claims al Qaeda is struggling to cope with the death of its leader and says it is an "open question" who will succeed him.

"The moment he was killed, the number two Ayman al Zawahribecomes the leader and all the loyalty is to him."