WASHINGTON - Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, has emerged as "the most dangerous regional node in the global jihad," Retired Gen. David Petraeus said Tuesday during his first Capitol Hill appearance as CIA Director.
Petraeus made the remarks when testifying along with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.

"The CIA assesses that, ten years after the 9/11 attacks, the United States continues to face a serious threat from al-Qaeda and its worldwide network of affiliates and sympathizers," he told lawmakers.

AQAP, a Yemen-based terrorist group, was blamed for the failed terror plot to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner in December, 2009. It was also behind the plots to launch attacks by mailing parcel bombs bound for the U.S. in October, 2010. (Xinhua)