Al-Qaida threatens U.S. with retaliation

WASHINGTON -- An al-Qaida statement posted on websites Friday threatened quick retaliation against the United States as the group acknowledged the killing of its founder and leader, Osama bin Laden.

The Afghan Taliban also sent a statement to reporters Friday that said bin Laden's death "will give a new impetus to the current jihad against the invaders," referring to the United States and its allies.

"We will remain, God willing, a curse chasing the Americans and their agents, following them outside and inside their countries," the al-Qaida statement said. "Soon, God willing, their happiness will turn to sadness, and their blood will be mingled with their tears."

The U.S. government would not confirm the al-Qaida statement's authenticity, but experts on the region and terrorism said al-Qaida faces pressure to attack quickly to reinforce its legitimacy as it sorts out who will take bin Laden's place.

Noting the al-Qaida statement acknowledges "the obvious" bin Laden death, White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "We're quite aware of the potential for activity and are highly vigilant on that matter for that reason."

Meanwhile, intelligence officials continued to analyze the cache of videotapes, computers and documents seized in the raid. A U.S. official said material retrieved from bin Laden's compound shows he was in touch with senior al-Qaida figures and was able to plot future attacks on U.S. targets from his suburban Pakistani hideout, the Associated Press reported. The official said the trove of documents and computer material also includes new video of bin Laden, both unreleased propaganda tapes and more candid shots like home videos.

A U.S. drone strike aimed to kill but missed American-born radical cleric and al-Qaida propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, The Wall Street Journal reported.

And CNN reported that Pakistani authorities arrested dozens of people with ties to bin Laden's house in Abbottabad.

In what appeared to be al-Qaida's first response since bin Laden's death, an 11-paragraph statement dated May 3 and attributed to the terrorist network appeared Friday on websites that have earlier carried confirmed jihadist messages.

The message didn't carry the usual logos used by al-Qaida, said Frank Cilluffo of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University. "The question is who really speaks for al-Qaida," he said.

Al-Qaida is scrambling to determine who will lead it now, especially as U.S. forces step up the hunt for known leaders, Cilluffo said. Al-Awlaki and bin Laden's No. 1, Ayman al-Zawahri have been mentioned as possible replacements.

"This new leadership will have to prove their bona fides and demonstrate that they're still viable, and they will attempt to do that in the boldest and most violent way possible," said Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Roslyn Heights), a South Asia expert.