The American intelligence agency CIA says that although al-Qaeda may not fragment immediately, following the death of Osama bin Laden but it has put the deadly organisation on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse.

The CIA said US agencies had been collecting intelligence about the compound in Abbotabad in Pakistan since it was discovered in August last year.

Multiple streams of intelligence led to the assessment that Osama bin Laden was hiding there, protected by two of his closest aides.

US President Barack Obama has met the military team that killed Bin Laden and praised their mission as one of the greatest military operations in the American history. He reiterated his intention to withdraw forces from Afghanistan this summer.

Meanwhile, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has called upon the Pakistan Government to break its silence and clear the air over the operation carried out by American Navy SEAL that killed Bin Laden.

Addressing a public meeting in Dubai, he claimed that Bin Laden’s hiding in Abbottabad for years could be the result of intelligence failure and it should not be seen as Pakistan intelligence agencies colluding with al-Qaeda.

He rejected reports that Bin Laden was hiding in Abbottabad for the past six years.