Ammon News - WASHINGTON - FBI Forensic Artists Produce Enhanced Mug Shot Photos of Top Terrorists

Using sophisticated digital enhancement techniques, the FBI today published "aged progressed" mug shots of Osama bin Laden and 17 other top terrorists wanted by the U.S.

One version of bin Laden shows him with a full head of wavy gray and black hair, and a trim beard. No previous photo had shown him without a headdress covering his hair.

The second "aged processed" mug shot of bin Laden shows him with the long flowing beard that has been his trademark, although much grayer than previously seen.

The FBI and the State Department, which administers the international rewards program called Rewards for Justice, said the enhanced photos were created by forensic artists at the FBI's crime laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.

The FBI said its artists modified facial features and altered "grooming and cloth choices" in hopes the public might recognize bin Laden or any of the others.

"These new images are powerful examples of how advances in technology and science can be used to help find and bring to justice wanted persons," said Louis E. Grever, the head of the FBI's Science and Technology Branch.

Despite a $25 million reward for information on his whereabouts, U.S. officials say they have not had a confirmed sighting of bin Laden in more than eight years.

The full list of the aged photos can be seen at the State Department Web site www.rewardsforjustice.net.

(ABC)