Netanyahu thanks Obama for bin Laden assassination

Obama: World is better place after al Qaida leader's death; CIA chief: Terror group will try to avenge killing; US security at heightened state.

By JPOST.COM, REUTERS
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu open mouth 311 (R) (photo credit: REUTERS/Yin Dongxun)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu open mouth 311 (R)
(photo credit: REUTERS/Yin Dongxun)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with US President Barack Obama and thanked him in the name of all Israelis for the assassination operation that killed al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden on Monday.
Netanyahu added that "the operation sends a message of United States' determination in fighting terror."
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The Prime Minister's office said that Obama thanked Netanyahu for his call and reiterated Washington's obligation in the fight against terrorism.
Earlier, Obama said the world was a better place after the death of bin Laden.
Speaking at a ceremony at the White House, Obama said it was a good day for the country and that the United States had kept its commitment to see that justice was done.
CIA Director Leon Panetta said al Qaida will "almost certainly" try to avenge the US killing of bin Laden.
"Though bin Laden is dead, al-Qaida is not, Panetta said. "The terrorists almost certainly will attempt to avenge him, and we must - and will - remain vigilant and resolute."
US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said US homeland security officials were at a "heightened state of vigilance" for possible retaliatory attacks.
The Homeland Security Department has no plans to issue a specific advisory about credible or imminent threats at this time, she said in a statement.
"Our security posture, which always includes a number of measures both seen and unseen, will continue to respond appropriately to protect the American people from an evolving threat picture both in the coming days and beyond," Napolitano said.
The US Homeland Security Department scrapped the color-coded warning system last month and said it would instead issue alerts only when credible or specific threats emerged.