A US military chief ordered his subordinates to destroy any photographs of Osama bin Laden’s body or turn them over to the CIA, 11 days after the the al Qaida founder was killed in 2011, a newly-released email shows.

Records about the US Navy Seals’ raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout were ordered to be purged from Pentagon computers and sent to the CIA – where they could be more easily shielded from ever being made public.