US President Barack Obama is to visit Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 attacks in New York, later on Thursday, four days after US forces killed al-Qaeda head Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.

Bin Laden was believed to be the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and many others.

Mr Obama will lay a wreath in memory of the victims and speak to relatives.

According to BBC ‘s news, the visit comes a day after the US leader said graphic photographs of Bin Laden’s body would not be made public.

The al-Qaeda leader was killed by US special forces in northern Pakistan on Monday. His body was then buried at sea from a US aircraft carrier.

In New York Mr  Obama will meet the families of those who died when the World Trade Center collapsed and those who tried to save them.

“He wants to meet with them and share with them this important and significant moment, a bitter-sweet moment, I think, for many families of the victims,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

However, Mr Obama is not scheduled to make a speech.

Thousands of people gathered at Ground Zero on Sunday night, waving flags and climbing street signs, as the news emerged that Bin Laden had been killed.

Ground Zero is now a building site, with construction scheduled for completion in 2013.

As well as several office towers, the area will also house the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which comprises a museum, waterfalls and a park.

Mr Obama has decided not to publish photos of Bin Laden’s body, saying the images could pose a national security risk.

“It is important for us to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence, as a propaganda tool. That’s not who we are,” Mr Obama said.

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