FILE - In this image made from video taken on May 24, 2008, Pakistan's top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, right, talks to the media in Kotkai, a village in the Pakistani tribal area along the Afghan border. Mehsud was killed in a U.S. missile strike on Wednesday Aug. 5, 2009. Recent deaths of militants in Somalia, Indonesia and Pakistan have chipped away at al-Qaida's power base, sapping the terror network of experienced operatives it had been using to train new recruits and wage attacks. AP Photo logo AP Photo 3 months ago

FILE - In this image made from video taken on May 24, 2008, Pakistan's top Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, right, talks to the media in Kotkai, a village in the Pakistani tribal area along the Afghan border. Mehsud was killed in a U.S. missile strike on Wednesday Aug. 5, 2009. Recent deaths of militants in Somalia, Indonesia and Pakistan have chipped away at al-Qaida's power base, sapping the terror network of experienced operatives it had been using to train new recruits and wage attacks.

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  1. Pakistanis gather by portraits of soldiers killed in a militant siege on the army's Rawalpindi headquarters to pay tribute in Lahore on October 14, 2009. The feared Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group has vowed to avenge their leader Baitullah Mehsud's death in a US missile strike in the lawless northwest tribal region of South Waziristan on August 5. The Islamist extremist group has already claimed a weekend raid on Pakistan's army headquarters, when gunmen took 42 hostages in a brazen siege ending with nine militants, 11 soldiers and three hostages killed.

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  1. A Pakistani boy stands on the front step of his house at sunset in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of capital Islamabad, on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  2. A Pakistani driver steers his tuk-tuk taxi through Rawalpindi on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad, on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  3. A police officer directs heavy traffic at rush hour in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad, on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  4. A Pakistani man pulls a cart laden with plastic pipes at sunset in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  5. Pakistani boys fly a kite at sunset in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  6. Pakistani labourers stack old wooden window frames into a truck at dusk in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  7. Two Pakistani boys talk on a bridge at dusk in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of capital Islamabad on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  8. A Pakistani woman peaks out from her front door at sunset in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of capital Islamabad on October 14, 2009. After a brief lull following the death of Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile strike in August, Pakistan has again been plunged into crisis with a wave of militant attacks killing 125 people in eight days.
  9. Siti Rahma, wife of slain regional al-Qaida commander Noordin Top, in a black veil, is seen in Pontian, southern Malaysia, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. Tearful relatives of slain regional al-Qaida commander Noordin Top buried him in a traditional Muslim funeral at his boyhood village Friday, two weeks after Indonesian security forces killed him in a shootout.
  10. Relatives and villagers carry the coffin of slain regional al-Qaida commander Noordin Top for a burial at a cemetery in Pontian, southern Malaysia, Friday, Oct. 2, 2009. Tearful relatives of slain regional al-Qaida commander Noordin Top buried him in a traditional Muslim funeral at his boyhood village Friday, two weeks after Indonesian security forces killed him in a shootout.
  11. J. Michael Dowling, lawyer for suspected al-Qaida terrorist Najibullah Zazi, gestures during a press briefing after his client's appearance in Brooklyn Federal Court, New York, Tuesday Sept. 29, 2009.
  12. In this courtroom sketch of suspected al-Qaida terrorist Najibullah Zazi is shown as he appears in Brooklyn Federal Court, New York, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009.
  13. J. Michael Dowling, lawyer for suspected al-Qaida terrorist Najibullah Zazi, speaks during a a press briefing after his client's appearance in Brooklyn Federal Court, New York, Tuesday Sept. 29, 2009.
  14. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden addresses a news conference in Afghanistan in this May 26, 1998 file photo. Bin Laden urged European nations in an new audio tape aired on September 25, 2009 to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan.
  15. Al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, speaks during a new 106-minute long video released Tuesday Sept. 22, 2009 predicting President Barack Obama's downfall at the hands of the Muslim world."America has come in a new, hypocritical face. Smiling at us, but stabbing us with the same dagger that Bush used," said Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri in the message.
  16. American-born al Qaeda militant Adam Gadahn appears in a still image from a video released September 22, 2009 by al-Qaeda's as-Sahab entitled, "The West ... and the Dark Tunnel" in this handout image provided by IntelCenter.

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  15. A man looks at an electronic stock indicator in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, showing Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gained 217.41 points to 9298. 93 in the morning. Asian stock markets have rebounded from their steep fall last week after the United Arab Emirates moved to contain the fallout from Dubai's debt crisis.
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