The 25-to-50-million-dollar price that had been put on terrorist leader Osama bin Laden's head will not be paid out, US officials said Monday.

"As far as I'm aware, no one knowledgeably said, 'Oh, Osama bin Laden's over here in Abbottabad at 5703, you know, Green Avenue'," said White House press secretary Jay Carney.

Carney said that the reward isn't given if someone "accidentally" provides the necessary information through the intelligence gathering process.

In 2001, the State Department offered a USD 25 M reward for information about bin Laden's whereabouts.

In 2004, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton pushed for the passage of a bill that would allow the Secretary of State - the position she now holds - to authorize as much as USD 50 M as a prize.

New York lawmakers have suggested that the money instead go to survivors of 9/11, as well as the families of victims.