Petraeus: Afghanistan no longer al-Qaeda haven

Gen. David Petraeus says "very significant losses" in recent months have triggered al-Qaeda to move their headquarters from Afghanistan to western Pakistan. Appearing on "FOX News Sunday" and CNN's "State of the Union," on Sunday the head of the US Central Command said the group was no longer holding its headquarters in Afghanistan. Petraeus, however, said that some branches of the terrorist group are still active in "enclaves and sanctuaries" in Afghanistan. The top US military commander also warned that "tentacles of al-Qaeda" have spread across the countries from the Middle East to northern Africa. Petraeus said he believes Osama bin Laden and his No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri remain in charge of the terrorist network. "They surface periodically. We see communications that they send out," Petraeus said. Though Petraeus said there was no known location for either of the terrorists, he said al-Qaeda senior leadership clearly is rooted in the border region of western Pakistan. "There's no question that al-Qaeda's senior leadership has been there and has been in operation for years," Petraeus said. President Barack Obama and his team claim Pakistan is the new sanctuary for al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives, vowing to withdraw forces from Iraq and redeploy them in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama had earlier declared plans to send another 4,000 troops to Afghanistan in addition to 17,000 extra troops already deployed in the war-ravaged country.