Former US president George W Bush declined an invitation by President Barack Obama to visit New York's Ground Zero on Thursday to mark the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the New York Times reported.
Bush would not be in attendance, the Times late Tuesday quoted the former president's spokesman, David Sherzer, as saying. After leaving office, Bush had chosen to stay largely out of the spotlight, Sherzer said, DPA reported.
The White House did not confirm the invitation or comment on Bush's decision.
Obama plans to visit Ground Zero, where on September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda terrorists flew two planes in the World Trade Center towers, and meet with victims' relatives.
Bush, who had made the hunt for the terrorist leader a priority during his time in office, congratulated his successor on bin Laden's death.