Obama to meet on Friday with Navy SEALs who killed Osama

U.S. president Barack Obama will meet on Friday with members of the US Navy SEALs who took part in the commando raid that resulted in the death of terror chief, Osama bin Laden, according to media reports.

Obama will privately thank the officers at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky, a senior administration official said. The SEALs returned to the U.S. on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters that bin Laden's death was a monumental achievement, but the fact remains that we're still at war, that we have 100,000 combat personnel in Afghanistan, we have troops in a support-and-assist role in Iraq, and we have US military men and women in other places around the globe and, in some cases, in difficult situations.

Carney added: So it's important to acknowledge that, and for Americans to remember that despite the elimination of bin Laden, we're still extremely dependent upon and grateful to our military men and women for what they do.”

Obama is spending Thursday in and around Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, meeting with New York City firefighters as well as with relatives of people who were killed on 9-11.

He also laid a wreath at Ground Zero in a silent ceremony to honor the victims of the terrorist attack.