The documents also show that he was warned about the brutality against Muslims in Iraq by the splinter group, known at that time as “Al Qaeda in Iraq,” eventually to become ISIS, or Da’esh. Bin Laden responded to one letter that listed grievances about the excesses of the group.
The letter, written by Abu al-Abbas, said: “We heard from more than one person at the leadership level that they are claiming to be an independent state and to have no ties with [us].” Al-Abbas said AQI was seizing property and cars of Muslims “on the pretext that they don’t wage jihad” and torturing and murdering 15 detainees of a rival militia.
Also available in the 2015 set of declassified items was a list of books found in Bin Laden’s compound, which included works history and current affairs such as Obama’s Wars by Bob Woodward, and an application for Al Qaeda recruits.
The Al Qaeda application for acceptance included questions such as: “Do you wish to execute a suicide operation?” and “Who should we contact in case you become a martyr?”