Osama Bin Laden wanted to leave his £20m wealth to 'jihad,' says will released by US intelligence officials

'I hope, for my brothers, sisters, and maternal aunts, to obey my will and to spend all the money that I have left in Sudan on Jihad'

Osama bin Laden (Getty)

Osama Bin Laden's will has revealed that he wanted the majority of his wealth worth $29 million (£20.8 million) to be used on “jihad”.

The handwritten will is one of 113 documents newly released by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Among them are letters Bin Laden wrote to his father, mother and other members of Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda.

While Bin Laden requested that some of his fortune should be given to family members, he wanted the bulk of it to be spent on the work of the group responsible for the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York on 11 September, 2001.

In the will, which has been translated, he wrote: “I hope, for my brothers, sisters, and maternal aunts, to obey my will and to spend all the money that I have left in Sudan on Jihad, for the sake of Allah.”

When Bin Laden was killed in a raid five years ago at his compound in Pakistan, his documents were seized by US authorities.

They are being released in batches after undergoing a review by the CIA.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said: “The release aligns with the president’s call for increased transparency – consistent with national security prerogatives – and the 2014 Intelligence Authorization Act.”

Among the other documents, Bin Laden wrote to one of his wives in Iran to say he was worried about her visit to the dentist because it could have given the Iranians a chance to implant a tracking device.

In 2009, he wrote to Professor Mustafa Hamid to offer his views on two of his books including "A Cross in the Sky of Qandahar". Bin Laden wrote in the 22-page letter: "I felt obligated to transmit to you my comments and the comments of the brothers regarding some of the things that the book contained that contradict the facts that you and I and they witnessed..."

In another letter, he addressed the war in Afghanistan. “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."

“They thought that the war would be easy and that they would accomplish their objectives in a few days or a few weeks, and they did not prepare for it financially, and there is no popular support that would enable it to carry on a war for a decade or more.”

Additional reporting by agencies