VIA: CNN WIRE PRESS

(CNN) — Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil, is dead, officials said — almost 10 years after the attacks that killed about 3,000 people.

The founder and leader of al Qaeda was killed by U.S. forces Monday in a mansion in Abbottabad, north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, along with other family members, a senior U.S. official told CNN.

In an address to the nation Sunday night, U.S. President Barack Obama called bin Laden’s death “the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.”

Half a world away, the scene outside the White House was one of pure jubilation.

Hundreds reveled through the night, chanting “USA! USA!” Others chanted “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!” in reference to the demise of bin Laden. Many also spontaneously sang the national anthem.

In New York, a cheering crowd gathered at ground zero — the site where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. Strains of “God Bless America” could be heard intermittently trickling through the crowd.