Terrorism, Al Qaeda | featured news

U.S. officials are warning the killing of American-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the face of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, could spark retaliatory attacks, according to a bulletin obtained by CNN.

President Obama credited American intelligence operations and cooperation with the Yemeni government for the death of key Al Qaeda figure Anwar Awlaki on Friday, calling it a "major blow" to the terrorism network's most active operational affiliate and a sign of things to come.

Military officials in Pakistan announced the arrest of three men on Monday they said were senior Al Qaeda operatives who had been planning attacks on Western targets.

The FBI and Homeland Security issued a nationwide warning about al-Qaida threats to small airplanes, just days before the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The number two leader of al Qaeda, Atiyah abd al-Rahman, was killed on August 22 in Pakistan, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, who arrived in Kabul on Saturday, also said the American focus had narrowed to capturing or killing key leaders of the terrorist group in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.

A new U.S. counterterrorism strategy will focus on the ability of al Qaeda and its network to inspire people in the United States to attack the homeland, said John Brennan, White House counterterrorism adviser.

Osama bin Laden's longtime deputy Ayman al-Zawahri, a fiery ideologue who is known for his deep hatred of the West and helped plan the 9/11 attacks, has taken control of al-Qaida after the death last month of the terror network's founder, the group said Thursday.

Yemen's Defense Ministry said the military had killed 21 al Qaeda "terrorists" on Saturday in the southern Abyan province, whose capital, Zinjibar was seized by Islamist militants last month.

Hundreds of Islamic militants solidified their control over a town in southern Yemen Sunday after seizing tanks in clashes with fleeing soldiers, military officials said. Opponents of the country’s embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, accused him of allowing the militants to freely seize Zinjibar in a bid to stoke Western fears that al-Qaida would take over the country if he responded to demands by demonstrators to step down.