WASHINGTON — Al-Qaeda still has the capacity to stage international
attacks from Pakistan despite US forces' killing of the extremist
network's leader Osama bin Laden, a US official said Friday.
Appearing before Congress, State Department official Shari Villarosa renewed calls on Pakistan to take action against Islamic extremists, particularly in lawless northwestern areas where militants enjoy a safe haven.
"Although the AQ (Al-Qaeda) core is clearly weaker, it retains the capability to conduct regional and transnational attacks" from Pakistan, Villarosa said in written testimony to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Villarosa, the deputy counterterrorism coordinator in charge of regional affairs, pointed to the Al-Qaeda linkages of the Pakistan-based militant groups Tehreek-e-Taliban and the Haqqani network.
"We will do our part and we look to the government of Pakistan to take decisive steps in the days ahead," Villarosa said. "Joint action against AQ and its affiliates will make Pakistan, America and the world safer and more secure."
She also called for action against Lashkar-e-Taiba, a vehemently anti-Indian movement rooted not in the lawless northwest but in populous Punjab province. The group is blamed for the bloody 2008 siege of Mumbai.
US lawmakers have increasingly questioned the relationship with Pakistan, which has received some $18 billion since allying itself with Washington in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas who chaired the hearing, voiced alarm that bin Laden "lived comfortably in Abbottabad," home to Pakistan's top military academy.
"He was not hiding in a cave, he was not in the mountains. His compound was less than one mile, or about half the distance from here to the Washington Monument, from the Pakistan military academy," McCaul said on Capitol Hill.
"At this point we do not know who in the Pakistani government was aware of Osama bin Laden's presence, but I am certain that some Pakistan officials knew that he was living in plain sight," he said. AFP
Appearing before Congress, State Department official Shari Villarosa renewed calls on Pakistan to take action against Islamic extremists, particularly in lawless northwestern areas where militants enjoy a safe haven.
"Although the AQ (Al-Qaeda) core is clearly weaker, it retains the capability to conduct regional and transnational attacks" from Pakistan, Villarosa said in written testimony to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Villarosa, the deputy counterterrorism coordinator in charge of regional affairs, pointed to the Al-Qaeda linkages of the Pakistan-based militant groups Tehreek-e-Taliban and the Haqqani network.
"We will do our part and we look to the government of Pakistan to take decisive steps in the days ahead," Villarosa said. "Joint action against AQ and its affiliates will make Pakistan, America and the world safer and more secure."
She also called for action against Lashkar-e-Taiba, a vehemently anti-Indian movement rooted not in the lawless northwest but in populous Punjab province. The group is blamed for the bloody 2008 siege of Mumbai.
US lawmakers have increasingly questioned the relationship with Pakistan, which has received some $18 billion since allying itself with Washington in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas who chaired the hearing, voiced alarm that bin Laden "lived comfortably in Abbottabad," home to Pakistan's top military academy.
"He was not hiding in a cave, he was not in the mountains. His compound was less than one mile, or about half the distance from here to the Washington Monument, from the Pakistan military academy," McCaul said on Capitol Hill.
"At this point we do not know who in the Pakistani government was aware of Osama bin Laden's presence, but I am certain that some Pakistan officials knew that he was living in plain sight," he said. AFP
