WASHINGTON: The US commandos who struck Osama bin Laden's compound in an operation that killed the al Qaeda leader recorded the raid on tiny helmet-mounted cameras, a report said Thursday.

The 25 SEALS that raided the compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2 were carrying the mini cameras, said CBS News.

According to US officials who have seen images of the 40-minute operation, the only firefight in the raid took place outside the main compound building, where bin Laden's couriers opened fire and were themselves shot dead, CBS reported.

Commandos then saw bin Laden for the first time after he appeared on a third floor landing, and they fired and missed. The terror chief then retreated into a bedroom.

The first SEAL that entered the room pulled aside bin Laden's daughters who were there with him, while a second commando was confronted by one of his wives who either rushed him or was pushed in his direction, said CBS.

According to the report, that second commando pushed the wife out of the way and fired a round into bin Laden's chest, and a third commando then shot bin Laden in the head. Speculation has swirled on the precise details of the raid that killed the world's most wanted man.

Earlier Thursday it was revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency had begun showing US lawmakers photos of the slain bin Laden, which President Barack Obama insists are too gruesome to be released to the public.