Osama bin Laden was actively engaged in directing his far-flung network from the compound in Pakistan where he was killed, a senior US intelligence official said.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was speaking as new video images of the al-Qaeda leader were released last night.
He said information carted away from the compound by US forces after Monday's raid, represented the largest trove of intelligence ever obtained from a single terrorism suspect.
"This compound in Abbottabad was an active command and control centre for al-Qaeda's top leader and it's clear ... that he was not just a strategic thinker for the group," the official said. "He was active in operational planning and in driving tactical decisions."
US president Barack Obama's administration released five video clips of bin Laden taken from the compound, most of them showing the al-Qaeda leader, his beard dyed black, evidently rehearsing the videotaped speeches he sometimes distributed to his followers.
None of the videos was released with sound. The intelligence official said it had been removed because the United States did not want to transmit bin Laden's propaganda. But he said they contained the usual criticism of the United States as well as capitalism.
Pakistani security officials reacted with scepticism to the claims. "It sounds ridiculous," said a senior intelligence official. "It doesn't sound like he was running a terror network."
While several video segments showed him rehearsing, one showed an ageing and grey-bearded bin Laden in an austere setting, wrapped in a blanket and wearing a ski cap while watching videotapes of himself.
The official said the personal nature of the videos was further evidence that the man killed in the raid was bin Laden, who carefully managed his public image.
The US intelligence official said Washington assumed Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda's second in command, was likely to assume control of the organisation following bin Laden's death, but that was uncertain because he was disliked in some quarters.
"To some members of al-Qaeda he's extremely controlling, is a micromanager and is not especially charismatic," the official said.
An initial review of the information taken from the compound showed bin Laden continued to be interested in attacking the United States and "appeared to show continuing interest in transportation and infrastructure targets," the official said.
"The materials reviewed over the past several days clearly show that bin Laden remained an active leader in al-Qaeda, providing strategic, operational and tactical instructions to the group," the official said. "He was far from a figurehead. He was an active player, making the recent operation even more essential for our nation's security."