US President Barack Obama [Images] today said the frontier regions of Pakistan were "safe havens" for the Al Qaeda [Images].

"The safe havens for Al Qaeda remain in the frontier regions of Pakistan," Obama told reporters in response to a question at the White House during a joint press conference with the visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

When asked about the attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore [Images] today, Obama said he was deeply concerned. "But, let me just make a general statement," he said.

"Both Great Britain and the United States share a deep interest in ensuring that neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan are safe havens for terrorist activity. We have coordinated effectively in the past, but the truth is that the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated," Obama said.

Referring to the ongoing comprehensive review of US policies with respect to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama said:

"I will make a series of announcements prior to the NATO summit that immediately follows the G-20 summit in terms of

the direction that the United States would like to go."