WASHINGTON: Some special operations service members and veterans are unhappy that one of their own has taken credit publicly for killing Osama Bin Laden. Others say they have gotten used to the idea that their brethren might break the code of silence and seek to profit from their deeds.

That internal debate gained intensity this week when retired Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill acknowledged that he had fired two rounds into the forehead of the Al-Qaeda leader during the 2011 raid on his secret compound in Pakistan. O’Neill says more and more people were becoming aware of his role and that his name was bound to become public anyway.

O’Neill had recounted his version of the Bin Laden raid in February 2013 to Esquire magazine, which identified him only as “the shooter.” In a story Thursday, The Washington Post identified him by name as he described shooting the leader of the terrorist group behind the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

One current and one former SEAL confirmed to The Associated Press that O’Neill was long known to have killed Bin Laden. Defense Department officials confirmed that O’Neill was a member of SEAL Team Six and was part of the raid, but they said they could not confirm who fired the fatal shot, noting that other SEALs on the mission also fired at Bin Laden.

If O’Neill discloses classified information during the interviews he could be subject to an investigation or action by the Justice Department, the Defense Department officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter by name.

O’Neill told the Post that shots also were fired by two other SEAL team members, including Matt Bissonnette, who described the raid somewhat differently in his book “No Easy Day.” His lawyer said Bissonnette is under federal criminal investigation over whether he disclosed classified information in the book, which he did not vet with the military. In the Esquire piece, O’Neill makes no mention of Bissonnette shooting Bin Laden.

Well before the Post interview, O’Neill discussed his role in the raid during a private meeting with relatives of victims of the 9/11 attack on New York’s World Trade Center before the recent opening of the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum. He donated the shirt he was wearing in the operation, which is now on display there.

O’Neill is scheduled to be featured in lengthy segments next week on Fox News. He told the Post he decided to go public because he feared his identity was going to be leaked by others. Indeed, his name appeared Monday on the website SOFREP, which is operated by former special operations troops.