Osama strike was at heart of terrorism: Cameron

London, May 26: Congratulating US President Barack Obama for the operation against Osama bin laden in Abbottabad, Prime Minister David Cameron today said the strike was "at the heart of international terrorism".

Speaking at a joint press conference on the second day of Obama's visit, Cameron said both the United States and the United Kingdom had suffered due to terrorism, and people of both countries had died together.

"We must continue to destroy the terrorist networks," the British leader underlined. Cameron, who famously said during his last year's visit to India that Pakistan could not "look both ways" on the issue of terrorism, refuted claims that it was not possible to defeat al-Qaeda and international terrorism.

"We can defeat al-Qaeda....We need to destroy terror networks. I congratulate Barack for the operation against Osama bin Laden, which was a strike at the heart of international terrorism," he said."But let me add that Pakistan has suffered more than any other country from terrorism.

Their enemy is our enemy," Cameron said.Due to the challenges faced by Pakistan, he said it was necessary that Britain worked with the country "more closely".

Obama did not mention Pakistan during his opening statement and responses to questions, but dwelt at length on the challenges in Libya, the Middle East and the economy. Both agreed to "turn up the heat" in Libya without sending in ground troops to challenge embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The US-UK relationship is often described as "special", but Cameron went further and described it as an "essential relationship", which was vital for the security and prosperity of the two countries.

PTI