Bin Laden photos 'must stay secret'

The Obama administration has said public disclosure of graphic photos and video taken of Osama bin Laden after he was killed in May by US commandos would damage national security and lead to attacks on American property and personnel. In a response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group seeking the imagery, Justice Department lawyers said the CIA had located 52 photographs and video recordings. But they argued the images of the dead Al Qaida terror chief were classified and were being withheld from release to avoid inciting violence against Americans overseas and compromising secret systems and techniques used by the CIA and the military. The Justice Department has asked the court to dismiss Judicial Watch's lawsuit.