al-Zawahiri, bin Laden
Osama bin Laden sits with his adviser and successor Ayman al-Zawahri during an interview in Afghanistan REUTERS/Ho New

The United States has formally dropped criminal charges against former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed in a U.S. military raid in Pakistan last month, BBC News reported.

A 1998 indictment that charged bin Laden with murder and conspiracy to kill Americans for his role in the suicide bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people, was disposed in federal court in Manhattan Friday. The indictment also alleged that bin Laden tried to attack U.S. defense assets.

Today's court notes indicate that while this case was still pending, bin Laden's death voids the case.

A declaration signed by Deputy Assistant Attorney General George Toscas says DNA samples from bin Laden's body matched a profile compiled from multiple members of his family, with the likelihood of a mistaken identification at approximately one in 11.8 quadrillion.

One of bin Laden's wives, who was present on the third floor of the compound when he was killed, confirmed his identity.

The results were additionally confirmed through facial recognition analysis by the CIA.

Court papers further note that al-Qaeda has itself publicly acknowledged the death of bin Laden, as his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri was named al-Qaeda's new chief.

Al-Qaeda Pakistan Court Kenya