The US administration says al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was not armed when a Navy SEAL commandos confronted him during an assault on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Meanwhile, the CIA Chief has told NBC that a photo of Osama bin Laden's death will ultimately be released.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday that bin Laden resisted before he was shot by US commandos.

Carney declined to offer further details on bin Laden's behavior during the raid, saying only that his resistance did not involve a firearm.

He revealed that one of bin Laden's wives tried to rush the commandos and was shot in the leg.

Carney also described the sequence of events which led to the death of bin Laden.

He said, "On orders of the President, a small US team assaulted a secure compound in an affluent suburb of Islamabad to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. The raid was conducted with US military personnel assaulting on two helicopters. The team methodically cleared the compound, moving from room to room in an operation lasting nearly 40 minutes.

They were engaged in a firefight throughout the operation and Osama bin Laden was killed by the assaulting force. Following the firefight, the non-combatants were moved to a safe location as the damaged helicopter was detonated. The team departed the scene via helicopter to the USS Carl Vinson in the north Arabian Sea."

Meanwhile, the White House has renewed its position that no decision has been made on whether to release a photo showing Osama bin Laden dead, but the director of the CIA has told NBC News that there is no question that the US will ultimately release the photo.

A U.S. official who has seen pictures of the body of bin Laden says he was shot at least once in the face. U.S. officials have repeatedly emphasized the al Qaeda leader's resistance to explain why he was killed instead of captured.