Al Qaeda threatens to use Pak nukes against US

The Al Qaeda would use Pakistan's nuclear weapons against the US if it was able to get its hands on them, a top commander of the terror group has said.

"God willing, the nuclear weapons will not fall into the hands of the Americans and the Mujahideen would take them and use them against the Americans," said Mustafa Abu al-Yazid in an interview to Al Jazeera channel aired on Sunday.

"We expect that the Pakistani army would be defeated (in Swat) ... and that would be its end everywhere, God willing," Iran's Press TV quoted him as saying.

The Pakistani army is battling the Taliban in the North West Frontier Province and the military has claimed significant successes in the operations.

Yazid is said to be Al Qaeda's military commander in Afghanistan and believed to have been killed in a US drone strike in August 2008. However, in a video in February this year, he had threatened that India would face more Mumbai-style attacks if it attacked Pakistan.

The interview with Al-Jazeera comes after US and Indian officials raised concerns over the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal amid growing insurgency across the country.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has said his country has a strong command-and-control system for its nuclear weapons.

In February, Yazid had said: "India should know that it will have to pay a heavy price if it attacks Pakistan."

Yazid, who is said to be ranked behind Ayman Al Zawahiri in the organisation, had last year claimed that the Al Qaeda was responsible for the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto.