Osama bin Laden's death aftermath

Al-Qaeda has confirmed the death of its leader, Osama Bin Laden, according to a statement attributed to the group and posted on jihadist internet forums.

The statement said his blood would not be "wasted" and al-Qaeda would continue to attack the US and its allies.

The deceased terrorist was buried at sea because no country would accept bin Laden's remains.

White House spokesman Jay Carney says Bin Laden's wife was shot in the leg but not killed, reversing an earlier report she died while being used as a human shield. She "rushed the US assaulter and was shot in the leg, but not killed".

Detainees captured by the US in previous counter-terrorism efforts provided insight into networks of people who were close to Bin Laden, the White House says.

White House spokesman Jay Carney adds the operation to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden was the "most highly classified operation this government has undertaken in many, many years".

"It's fair to say it's a gruesome photograph," White House spokesman Jay Carney has said of the photograph (or photographs) of the dead bin Laden.

Carney is meanwhile coming under pressure from reporters at the briefing. They want to know why bin Laden was not taken alive if he was, as they have now been told, unarmed.

According to a Reuters report of the poll, 39% of Americans said their image of Obama's leadership had improved, while 52% said it had not changed and 10% said it had worsened.

Osama Bin Laden was "not armed" when US forces shot him, the White House says.

Bin Laden's daughter, who survived the raid on his compound, has told Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, that she watched her father being killed by US operatives, Reuters reports.

Also up for consideration is the release of video from the "helmet cams" of the Navy SEALS who went after bin Laden. The SEALS captured the mission on tape by wearing helmet cameras.