US President Barack Obama has met the American special forces team that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, saying they deserve credit for one of the greatest military operations in US history.
At a private ceremony at a military base in Kentucky on Friday, he awarded them the Presidential Unit Citation - the highest honour of its kind for a military unit.
In a speech to troops afterwards Mr Obama said it had been a historic week in the life of the United States.
"I came here for a simple reason - to say thank you on behalf of America," he told troops at Fort Campbell.
"Thanks to the incredible skill and courage of countless individuals - intelligence, military - over many years, the terrorist leader who struck our nation on 9/11 will never threaten America again."
The al-Qaeda leader, widely believed to be the mastermind of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, was shot dead in a raid by a US military team in Pakistan.
