Washington: Although Osama bin Laden is dead, Al Qaeda still has the capacity to stage international attacks from Pakistan, a US official has said.
The then Al Qaeda chief, who had evaded capture for a decade, was killed on May 2 in a top secret operation involving a small team of US Special Forces in Abbottabad, located 50 kilometres northeast of Islamabad and 150 kilometres east of Peshawar.
Appearing before Congress, State Department official Shari Villarosa renewed calls on Pakistan to take action against extremists.
"Although the AQ (Al Qaeda) core is clearly weaker, it retains the capability to conduct regional and transnational attacks" from Pakistan, The News quoted Villarosa, as saying in her written testimony to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Villarosa, Deputy Coordinator for Regional Affairs at the State Department, pointed to the al Qaeda linkages of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) 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 added.
ANI
