President Barack Obama decided Wednesday not to release photos of Osama bin Laden's corpse, citing national security risks and saying the United States should not brandish "trophies" of its victory.

Obama's war cabinet had been debating whether to publish gruesome post-mortem photos of the al-Qaida terror chief, who was gunned down by U.S. Special Forces in a covert raid inside Pakistan on Sunday.

Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden was unarmed when he was shot dead by U.S. special forces, but he tried to resist and there was a "volatile firefight," the White House said Tuesday.

The revelation, likely to stoke anger in parts of the Muslim world, came from President Barack Obama's spokesman Jay Carney as he provided the most detailed account yet of the Sunday night raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The U.S. on Friday imposed new sanctions on Syria over its violent repression of protests, and again singled out Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which it said was aiding the crackdown, as the EU agreed to impose an arms embargo against Damascus.

The asset freezes and restrictions on financial transactions notably targeted Maher al-Assad, the powerful brother of President Bashar Al-Assad, who commands Syria's feared Fourth Armored Division.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri has reportedly said that Russian MiG-29 fighter jets would strengthen the March 14 forces and prevent Hizbullah from overtaking Sunni Western Beirut as it did on May 7.

According to a WikiLeaks cable published by al-Akhbar daily on Friday, Hariri said during a meeting with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Hale on December 17, 2008 that the ownership of MiG jets by the army would most probably complicate Israeli overflights.

U.S. President Barack Obama Monday formally announced his 2012 re-election bid, saying the country needed "to protect the progress" it had made.

"Today, we are filing papers to launch our 2012 campaign," Obama said in a statement.

Sources concerned with the government structure on Monday uncovered that the delay in forming a Cabinet is not only related to the issue of names and portfolios, but is due to differences between Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati and Hizbullah.

The sources told pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat that Hizbullah has informed Miqati that the party rejects any mention of the international tribunal in the policy statement.

Actress and music diva Jennifer Lopez will top the bill at U.S. President Barack Obama's annual Super Bowl party on Sunday, as the Green Bay Packers take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for the NFL championship.

J-Lo will be joined by husband Marc Anthony at the White House party, also featuring top officials including Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, a senior U.S. official said.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has assured Prime Minister Saad Hariri of U.S. support as a U.N. tribunal probes the 2005 assassination of his father stoking tensions in Lebanon.

Biden "spoke by phone today (Friday) with... Hariri to discuss recent developments in Lebanon and the region," the White House said in a statement, adding the vice president "reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, and stability."

Hizbullah MP Hussein Moussawi on Wednesday saluted veteran U.S. reporter Helen Thomas' "courage" for her comments against Israel, which sparked a furor Washington and forced her to retire.

"Respected American journalist Helen Thomas' answer shows ... a courageous, bold, honest and free opinion which expresses what people across the globe believe: that Israel is a racist state of murderers and thugs," Moussawi said in a statement.