Pak-based Qaeda leaders plotting attacks against US: Pentagon

Washington, Feb 9: The top al-Qaeda leadership is based in Pakistan and continues to plot attacks against the US and its allies, the Pentagon has said, warning that terrorists'' ability to remotely plan and coordinate strikes is growing.

"Al-Qaeda senior leadership remains in Pakistan and intends to continue to attack the United States, allies and our partners," it said in a report titled ''The National Military Strategy (NMS) of the United States of America 2011''.

The US' strategic objective is to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Afghanistan and Pakistan and prevent their return to either country, it said.

"Success requires the Joint Force to closely work with NATO, our coalition partners, Afghanistan and Pakistan. We will continue to erode Taliban influence, work with the Afghan government to facilitate reintegration and reconciliation of former insurgents, continue to strengthen the capacity of Afghan security forces and enable Pakistan to ultimately defeat al-Qaeda and its extremist allies," it said.

The Pentagon said the threat of violent extremism is not limited to South Central Asia.

Groups such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al- Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, al-Shabaab, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and others emanate from Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere around the globe.

"Terrorists' ability to remotely plan and coordinate attacks is growing, sometimes facilitated by global illicit trafficking routes, extending their operational reach while rendering targeting of their sanctuaries more difficult," the report said.

"Undeterred by the complexity of terrorist networks and in concert with our allies and partners, we will be prepared to find, capture or kill violent extremists wherever they reside when they threaten interests and citizens of America and our allies," it said.

PTI