A conservative watchdog group is appealing a federal judge's denial of a request to release photos and video taken of Osama bin Laden during and after a raid in which the terrorist leader was killed by U.S. commandos last year.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg rejected a lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, which had sought the records under the Freedom of Information Act.

In court papers, the Justice Department had said that the images of a dead bin Laden are classified and are being withheld from the public to avoid inciting violence against Americans overseas and compromising secret systems and techniques.

The judge said he agreed with the government's security concerns about releasing such records.