The White House will not release photos of Osama bin Laden’s dead body, but that didn’t stop Reuters from publishing several gruesome photos Wednesday showing the aftermath of the U.S. raid on bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan and sending them to clients of the wire service.
Reuters defended that decision in a statement to The Huffington Post.
“As this is a story of global importance, Reuters chose to share these photographs with its media clients and allow them to make editorial decisions on how they were used,” a spokesperson said.
The news organization declined to comment further on photos showing three, unidentified men lying in pools of blood. (WARNING: the photographs are very graphic.)
But in an article accompanying the photos, Reuters said it purchased the photographs from a Pakistani security official who entered the compound about an hour after the U.S. raid took place that killed the al Qaeda leader. The official chose to remain anonymous.
