Washington: The Central Intelligence Agency CIA has warned that al-Qaida still poses a threat to the US and its partners in the war against terrorism, though more than one third of its top leadership have been killed or captured and 3,000 activists detained.

Stressing that there is no letup in the threat from al-Qaida, CIA director George Tenet said, despite the loss of several senior lieutenants, intelligence clearly shows the outfit is still preparing terrorist attacks.

"We are still in the hunt phase" in the war against terror, he said adding more than one-third of the top leadership of al-Qaida that had been identified before the war has been killed or captured.

In all, more than 3,000 al-Qaida operatives or associates have been detained in more than 100 countries, though some have been released. More than 166 countries worldwide have seized around $ 121 million in terrorist-related financial assets, he said it an article in the 'Los Angeles Times'.

The notion that the Muslim world has "lined up" against the US "is a myth", he added.

PTI