Osama bin Laden is dead.

U.S. officials have taken custody of Osama bin Laden’s body, President Barack Obama said Sunday night.

Bin Laden was killed at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, after a firefight, President Barack Obama said Sunday. A senior defense official said U.S. Navy Seals were involved in the operation.

CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh reports, citing a senior Pakistani intelligence official, that members of Pakistan’s intelligence service — the ISI — were on site in Abbotabad, Pakistan, during the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. The official said he did not know who fired the shot that actually killed Bin Laden.

No Americans were harmed in the operation in Pakistan and U.S. forces took care to avoid civilian casualties, Obama said during his speech to the nation.

A congressional source familiar with the operation that killed Osama bin Laden confirmed that the terror mastermind was shot in the head during the U.S. raid, according to a briefing the source received.

The source would not go into details of others who were killed, except to say the operation was conducted carefully to avoid harming women and children.

Asked if there is any intelligence that shows whether bin Laden’s death could trigger pre-planned attacks, the source said no, but added there is obvious concern about retaliation

U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world were placed on high alert following the announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death, a senior U.S. official told CNN.

The United States’ Department of Homeland Security did not immediately raise the terror-threat level in the aftermath of Osama bin Laden’s death, a department official told CNN early Monday.

“We remain at a heightened state of vigilance. Secretary (Janet) Napolitano has been clear since announcing the NTAS (National Terrorism Advisory System) in January that we will only issue alerts when we have specific or credible information to convey to the American public,” the official said. “Our security posture, which always includes a number of measures both seen and unseen, will continue to protect the American people from an evolving threat picture both in the next days and beyond.”

Former President George W. Bush said of Osama bin Laden’s death, “This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.”

Former President Bill Clinton said, “I congratulate the President, the National Security team and the members of our armed forces on bringing Osama bin Laden to justice after more than a decade of murderous al Qaeda attacks.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, released a statement Monday morning welcoming the death of Osama bin Laden: “As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and Al Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide. We also reiterate President Obama’s clear statement tonight that the United States is not at war with Islam.”

A Yemeni government official on Monday described the death of Osama bin Laden as “a truly historic moment,” hours after the United States announced the terror leader was killed in a targeted attack.

“We welcome the news … millions of people will sleep in peace tonight,” the official said. “Osama bin Laden was more of a symbolic figure, a spiritual leader for al Qaeda.”

The official said it is too early to determine how his death will affect the war against terror.

“But this is definitely a strong blow to the organization,” said the official, who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to talk to the media.

 

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said the “welcome news” of the death of Osama bin Laden “is a credit to our intelligence efforts and brings to justice the architect of the attacks on our country that killed nearly 3,000 people on September 11, 2001.”

Florida U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said, “Finally. We cut off the head of the snake. It’s our intelligence that got him. The noose has been tightening because of our intelligence operations.”

The last time CNN polled Americans about Osama bin Laden, two-thirds of them did not think the terrorist mastermind would be captured or killed.

In a poll conducted in September, 67 percent of those polled said it was not likely that the United States would be able to neutralize bin Laden.

Carie Lemack, whose mother Judy was killed on American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11, expressed “relief” over reports that Osama bin Laden is dead.

In an email to CNN she said, “Cannot express how this feels to my family, but relief is one word. We hope we can now focus on all that that madman took, namely nearly 3,000 + innocent victims, and not on him.”

A group of about 40 tourists arrived at the White House late Sunday night and chanted, “USA! USA!” They then chanted, “Hey, hey, goodbye!” in reference to Osama bin Laden and spontaneously sang the national anthem.

The Daily will continue to update this story.