WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has vowed to continue targeting the Al Qaeda that is threatening the US from Pakistan and beyond, even as the terror network is said to have “lost operational capacity” after a series of recent missile strikes.

“We know that Al Qaeda and its extremist allies threaten us from different corners of the globe-from Pakistan but also from East Africa and Southeast Asia; from Europe and the Gulf,” Obama said in a visit Tuesday to the National Counterterrorism Centre just outside Washington in McLean, Virginia.

“And that’s why we’re applying focused and relentless pressure on Al Qaeda,” he said, citing intelligence-sharing, disruption of terrorism financing, and attacks on Al Qaeda’s leadership.

Speaking from an operations center called “the bat cave,” Obama hailed successes against Al Qaeda and its allies “especially in recent months and days.”

He cited in particular the arrest of Najibullah Zazi, an American who authorities said was trained by Al Qaeda in Pakistan in preparation for an attack in the United States.

“Because of you, and all the organizations you represent,” Obama told employees at the centre, “we’re making real progress in our core mission - to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda and other extremist networks around the world.”

Citing a counterterrorism expert, Obama added: “Because of our efforts, Al Qaeda and its allies have not only lost operational capacity, they’ve lost legitimacy and credibility.”

But he warned that America’s enemies are still plotting and should not be underestimated. “It should now be clear-the United States and our partners have sent an unmistakable message: We will target Al Qaeda wherever they take root,” he said.

“We will not yield in our pursuit, and we are developing the capacity and the cooperation to deny a safe haven to any who threaten America and its allies,” Obama said adding US counterterrorism efforts were making progress in defeating Al Qaeda and other extremist networks.