Intelligence, Al Qaeda | featured news

A would-be "underwear bomber" involved in a plot to attack a US-based jet was in fact working as an undercover informer with Saudi intelligence and the CIA, it has emerged. The revelation is the latest twist in an increasingly bizarre story about the disruption of an apparent attempt by al-Qaida to strike at a high-profile American target using a sophisticated device hidden in the clothing of an attacker.

Osama bin Laden's spokesman and son-in-law has been captured by U.S. intelligence officials, a senior congressman said Thursday, calling it a "very significant victory" in the ongoing fight against al-Qaida.

The assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi last month appears to have been an opportunistic attack rather than a long-planned operation, and intelligence agencies have found no evidence that it was ordered by Al Qaeda, according to U.S. officials and witnesses interviewed in Libya.

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.