Why hasn't the US released images of Bin Laden's corpse?

The fact that special forces used heavy-handed tactics against Bin Laden is believed to be the reason why the US did not release images of the terrorist leader's corpse.

The topic of terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden remains highly controversial and mysterious to this day. One major question that persists is why the White House has not released images of the terrorist leader's body.

The death of terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden remains a highly controversial topic to this day. (Photo: AP)

Looking back, US officials have released videos and images of Saddam Hussein being hanged, as well as images of the bodies of his sons, Uday and Qusay, after they were killed by Delta Force.

So why didn't the Obama administration release images of the body of America's number one enemy to prove that Bin Laden was dead?

Matt Bissonnette, one of the US special forces soldiers from SEAL Team 6 who participated in the operation to kill Bin Laden, revealed part of the reason in his book "Not an Easy Day." According to the book, it states: "He (Bin Laden) died in agony, he was writhing and convulsing."

Bissonnette wrote: “Another special forces soldier and I aimed at his chest and fired. The bullets pierced Bin Laden, pinning his body to the floor until he was completely motionless.”

But this is perhaps the most polite description one can give of how American special forces killed this terrorist leader, because the reality is that the American soldiers took turns firing at Bin Laden. Two confidential sources said that after the special forces' volley of shots, the terrorist leader had more than 100 bullets in his body.

According to the Laws of Land Warfare, a soldier has full authority to shoot even fallen targets to ensure the target is truly dead and no longer a threat. However, what happened during the operation to kill Bin Laden went beyond that, as firing hundreds of rounds at someone who was no longer a threat seemed unnecessary.

This is believed to be the main reason why the administration of US President Barack Obama did not release images of Osama bin Laden's corpse, fearing that doing so would show the world a body covered in "unnecessary" bullet wounds.

Those images have the potential to cause an international scandal, triggering investigations that could reveal further secret activities.

According to VOV