Federal prosecutors in the US have dropped charges against Osama bin Laden from attacks spanning more than a decade, according to officials quoted in court papers filed in New York. Friday's move came following the al-Qaeda leader's death in May, closing a 13-year court case against the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The charges included more than 200 counts of criminal activity such as murder, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against civilians and more. However, none of the charges were related to the September 11 attacks.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan approved the request, issuing an order called "nolle prosequi", which means "do not prosecute" in Latin, a typical legal move once a defendant is deceased.

The court order came six weeks after US commandos killed bin Laden at his hideout in a compound in the military garrison town of Abbottabad, just north of Islamabad, Pakistan. US prosecutors in New York began prosecuting him in June 1998.

Never formally charged

Bin Laden was never formally charged with the 9/11 attacks that killed almost 3,000 people and put the US on a decade-long war footing with militants. Kaplan's order was issued following a formal request by the US justice department to dismiss charges against bin Laden.