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| Laden Dead Body Photos |
Scientists compared forensic samples from the body in the Pakistan hideout with those taken from the brain of the terror mastermind’s late sister.
Photos of the corpse have also been passed to experts in facial recognition, who are comparing them to previous indisputable images of the Al Qaeda leader.
America has carried out such tests before on tissue samples from unrecognisable victims of drone bombing attacks on remote Afghan and Pakistani terror nests, who it was thought might have been Bin Laden.
The apparent speed of the Bin Laden tests raised yet more questions about the U.S. operation last night. Merely transporting samples to laboratories where DNA profiling can be carried out usually takes time, as does the process itself.
However, new technology means that the process can be speeded up and it is entirely possible that the Americans kept a bin Laden family DNA profile at one of their bases in Afghanistan. Indeed, one report yesterday was that the DNA test had already been conducted on the fresh corpse.
Dr Frederick Bieber, a medical geneticist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, told the LA Times that it was possible for DNA analysis to be done quickly, particularly if profiles of relatives had already been analysed.
'Often it can be done overnight, and in high-profile forensic investigations, it often is,' said Bieber.
Pentagon officials said that photos of the body and a videotape of the sea burial may be released soon to answer doubts that bin Laden was actually killed.
