Washington, May 4 (IANS/RIA Novosti): A postmortem photograph of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, killed by US forces in Pakistan Sunday, will be published, CIA chief Leon Panetta said Tuesday.

"The bottom line is that, you know, we got bin Laden and I think we have to reveal to the rest of the world the fact that we were able to get him and kill him," Panetta told NBC News.

"The government obviously has been talking about how best to do this, but I don't think there's any question that ultimately a photograph would be presented to the public," he said.

Meanwhile, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the photograph was "gruesome" and that it hasn't been decided yet whether to release it.

US Navy SEALs burst into Osama's room and shot him in the head while he was hiding behind a woman during the operation that lasted a few minutes Sunday. The unidentified woman and three men, one believed to be Osama's son, were also killed.

A DNA test proved that it was Osama's corpse.