In the corridors of the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) northwest of Washington, the world-famous intelligence agency revealed - yesterday, Saturday - its renovated museum, which includes some declassified souvenirs, such as the leather jacket that was the Iraqi president. The late Saddam Hussein wore it during his arrest, and a rifle carried by Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, on the night he was killed.

The museum, which is still closed to the public, includes memorabilia of the most prominent operations of the "CIA" since its founding 75 years ago.

Among the interesting memorabilia in the museum is the AKM assault rifle that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was carrying on the night he was killed by US Marines in a raid on the Abbottabad compound in Pakistan on May 1, 2011.

A rifle that bin Laden was carrying on the night of his killing, a stone from his residence, a book for Al-Qaeda, and the shoes of an American soldier who participated in his killing (Reuters)

In addition to a leather jacket found with former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, when US forces arrested him in the basement of a farm near the city of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, on December 13, 2003.

Various exhibits

The museum's exhibits range from flight jackets worn by pilots of the Cold War-era U-2 and A-12 spy planes, to a wood-framed saddle similar to what was used by members of the Alpha team. The CIA navigates the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan on horseback shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

In addition to exhibits related to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin Wall, and other historical events in which the CIA had a role.

A model of Ayman al-Zawahiri's house used by the CIA to brief US President Biden on the assassination of the al-Qaeda leader (Reuters)

The museum's management organized his visit to the media on Saturday. "It's quite unusual to declassify something so quickly," says Janelle Nezes, deputy director of the museum. "We use our memorabilia to tell our stories. It's a way to be really honest and transparent about the CIA, It's hard sometimes."

The US authorities have declassified hundreds of museum memorabilia, some of which have been on display since the 1980s, and the deputy director of the museum says that the CIA from time to time lends some souvenirs to presidential libraries and other non-profit museums.