Bringing Osama to justice is US's top priority: White House

Capturing al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden remains a top priority for the United States, the White House has said, even as it has been successful in inflicting damage to the terror group by arresting several of its top leaders.

Capturing al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden remains a top priority for the United States, the White House has said, even as it has been successful in inflicting damage to the terror group by arresting several of its top leaders.

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"Bringing him (Laden) to justice, capturing or killing him obviously remains a priority," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.

"I think, if you were to only focus on one and not on, quite frankly, a broad array of important players in al-Qaeda, we wouldn't be discussing today an important and debilitating step that helps further cripple al-Qaeda in Iraq," he said.

The official said this while referring to the killing of top two al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq.

"If you examine the tempo with which this administration has prosecuted the war on terror in rooting out and helping to, as we did in Iraq, root out high-value targets, we've done so in a way I think that by all accounts has greatly damaged the capabilities of al-Qaeda," Gibbs said.

"But we know that as long as there are those members that seek to do this country harm, the President will remain vigilant in pursuing those targets," he asserted.