US concerned about emerging al-Qaida threat in Arabian Peninsula: Crowley

Washington, Jan 22(ANI): The United States has expressed its concern about the threat posed by terrorist organisation al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

"We are very concerned about emerging threats, particularly the threat posed by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula," Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J Crowley said during a press briefing at the Foreign Press Center.

"We have [seen the] recent efforts [by] the bomber on Christmas Day just over a year ago, the attempt to plant bombs on cargo aircraft... have clear links to Yemen. We are mindful of the attack that occurred in Uganda during the World Cup. So this is a global threat, and we are working hard to try to counteract it wherever it manifests itself," he added.

Talking about the first meeting of a global counterterrorism forum put together by the US this week, Crowley said that 24 countries were represented in that meeting, which was a "manifestation of how the United States, Canada, other countries in Europe, other countries in the region, including Africa, have banded together."

He went on to say that they were working "very diligently" to mitigate and defeat the groups, which were responsible for the violent attacks against civilians "wherever they occur."

"And we believe over 10 years, we have had significant successes.

Thanks to our international efforts in Afghanistan and also thanks to a very determined effort by the government and military in Pakistan, we have reduced the effectiveness of this core group of bin Ladin, Zawahiri, and others who are presumably holed up in the tribal areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan," Crowley added. (ANI)