<p>The president also vowed to defeat the terror group which is “actually based” in Pakistan and Afghanistan.<br /><br />Referring to the information he has received from his aides about the failed Christmas Day bombing, Obama said the Nigerian terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had travelled to Yemen.<br /><br />“It appears that he joined an affiliate of the al-Qaeda, and that this group — al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America,” he said in his weekly address to the nation.<br /><br />The president’s comments comes more than a week after Abdulmutallab tried unsuccessfully to blow up a Detroit-bound plane of North West Airlines from Amsterdam which was carrying 278 passengers.<br /><br />Obama vowed to defeat the al-Qaeda and its affiliated terrorist organisations and to do everything in his power to make the US safe.<br />This is not the first time this group has targeted the US, he said.<br />“In recent years, they have bombed Yemeni government facilities and Western hotels, restaurants and embassies, including our embassy in 2008, killing one American,” the president recalled. <br /><br />“So, as president, I’ve made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with the Yemeni government — training and equipping their security forces, sharing intelligence and working with them to strike al-Qaeda terrorists,” Obama said.<br /><br />“And even before Christmas Day, we had seen the results. Training camps have been struck; leaders eliminated; plots disrupted. And all those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on Christmas Day must know — you too will be held to account,” he said.<br /><br />People’s safety<br />Stating that these efforts are only part of a wider cause, Obama observed that it has been nearly a year since he stood on the steps of the US Capitol and took the oath of office as president. “And with that oath came the solemn responsibility that I carry with me every moment of every day — the responsibility to protect the safety and security of the American people.”<br /><br />He said in one year of his administration, he has focussed on those who were responsible for 9/11 attacks.<br /></p>
<p>The president also vowed to defeat the terror group which is “actually based” in Pakistan and Afghanistan.<br /><br />Referring to the information he has received from his aides about the failed Christmas Day bombing, Obama said the Nigerian terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had travelled to Yemen.<br /><br />“It appears that he joined an affiliate of the al-Qaeda, and that this group — al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America,” he said in his weekly address to the nation.<br /><br />The president’s comments comes more than a week after Abdulmutallab tried unsuccessfully to blow up a Detroit-bound plane of North West Airlines from Amsterdam which was carrying 278 passengers.<br /><br />Obama vowed to defeat the al-Qaeda and its affiliated terrorist organisations and to do everything in his power to make the US safe.<br />This is not the first time this group has targeted the US, he said.<br />“In recent years, they have bombed Yemeni government facilities and Western hotels, restaurants and embassies, including our embassy in 2008, killing one American,” the president recalled. <br /><br />“So, as president, I’ve made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with the Yemeni government — training and equipping their security forces, sharing intelligence and working with them to strike al-Qaeda terrorists,” Obama said.<br /><br />“And even before Christmas Day, we had seen the results. Training camps have been struck; leaders eliminated; plots disrupted. And all those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on Christmas Day must know — you too will be held to account,” he said.<br /><br />People’s safety<br />Stating that these efforts are only part of a wider cause, Obama observed that it has been nearly a year since he stood on the steps of the US Capitol and took the oath of office as president. “And with that oath came the solemn responsibility that I carry with me every moment of every day — the responsibility to protect the safety and security of the American people.”<br /><br />He said in one year of his administration, he has focussed on those who were responsible for 9/11 attacks.<br /></p>