New information continues to be released about the assault that killed al-Qaida leader and September 11 mastermind, Osama bin Laden. The biggest debate right now centers around whether or not the White House should release the "gruesome" photos of bin Laden's body to quiet the conspiracy theorists.

President Obama addressed the media Monday and said, "This is a good day for America."

Long believed to be hiding in caves, bin Laden was tracked down in a costly, custom-built hideout not far from a Pakistani military academy. A U.S. official says bin Laden was far from alone when U.S. forces launched their assault. The official says 23 children and nine women were in the compound that had served as bin Laden's secret home for six years. The official says the women and children were turned over to Pakistani authorities.

Elite American forces descended on the compound in helicopters, killing bin Laden and three other men, along with a woman being used as a human shield. There were no U.S. casualties.

President Barack Obama announced the operation, saying "Justice has been done." Cheering crowds gathered at the White House and at Ground Zero in Manhattan.

Bin Laden's body was quickly buried at sea and Obama said the remains had been handled in accordance with Islamic custom, which requires speedy burial. The Pentagon says Osama bin Laden's body was placed into the waters of the North Arabian Sea after adhering to traditional Islamic procedures including washing the corpse aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

CIA Director Leon Panetta is congratulating employees of the spy agency for their role in killing Osama bin Laden.

In a statement Monday, Panetta praised what he described as the "outstanding expertise, amazing creativity and excellent tradecraft" in tracking down and launching the military strike that killed bin Laden. Panetta, who is preparing to take over the Pentagon as the new U.S. defense secretary, also praised the Navy Seal team that took bin Laden down in a gun battle early Monday.

Panetta called bin Laden "the most infamous terrorist of our time." He added: "We have struck a heavy blow against the enemy. The only leader they have ever known, whose hateful vision gave rise to their atrocities, is no more. The supposedly uncatchable one has been caught and killed."

FBI has updated its list of Most Wanted terrorists to note that Osama bin Laden is dead. Its website -- with details about bin Laden and the $27 million being offered in rewards -- now includes a large red-and-white "deceased" label atop bin Laden's photograph.

Officials say CIA interrogators in secret overseas prisons developed the first strands of information that ultimately led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Current and former U.S. officials say that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, provided the nom de guerre of one of bin Laden's most trusted aides. The CIA got similar information Mohammed's successor, Abu Faraj al-Libi. Both were subjected to harsh interrogation tactics inside CIA prisons in Poland and Romania.

The news is sure to reignite debate over whether the now-closed interrogation and detention program was successful. Former President George W. Bush authorized the CIA to use the harshest interrogation tactics in U.S. history. President Barack Obama closed the prison system.

Nine other highly sought after terrorists are still included on the FBI's list, including bin Laden's deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahiri. The U.S. government also is offering a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture or conviction. Private groups had added $2 million in rewards on top of the $25 million bounty placed on bin Laden.

The impact Osama bin Laden's death will have on his al-Qaida organization is unclear. The greatest terrorist threat to the U.S. is now considered to be Al-Qaida in Yemen.

It was Al-Qaida's Yemen branch that almost took down a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas 2009 and nearly detonated explosives aboard two U.S. cargo planes last fall.

Those operations were carried out without any direct involvement from bin Laden. U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who's reportedly hiding in Yemen, is believed to be the inspiration behind those plots.

Al-Awlaki recently wrote in the new edition of Al-Qaida's online magazine that one thing violent Islamist groups will be able to take advantage of is the Arab world's wave of political unrest.

The official tells The Associated Press that 23 children and nine women were in the compound that had served as bin Laden's secret home for six years. The official says the women and children were turned over to Pakistani authorities.