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FBI Director Robert Mueller told a Congressional hearing that with the Al Qaeda recruiting Westerners for accomplishing its targets, the terror threat had grown all the more complex in the last few years.
Mueller said in his testimony that despite significant counterterrorism pressure, the Al Qaeda continues to be committed to high profile attacks directed at the West, including plans against Europe and the US.
He pointed out that recent investigations have revealed a shift in the strategy of attacks, with the Al Qaeda which earlier picked up recruits from the Middle East or South Asia, now making the West its recruiting ground.
"Since 2006, the Al Qaida has looked to recruit Americans or Westerners who are able to remain undetected by heightened security measures," Mueller said.
He pointed to the example of Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested last year for plotting to attack the New York subway.
He also cited the arrest of Pakistani American David Headley, and Times Square terror accused Faisal Shahzad, pointing out that home-grown extremism was a major challenge.
"US citizen David Headley was arrested in October 2009 in Chicago for planning terrorist attacks against a Danish newspaper and two of its employees. During the course of this investigation, the FBI collected intelligence that uncovered Headley's operational role in the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, and connected him to a separate plot to kill an individual in Denmark," Mueller told the hearing.
He recalled that a superseding indictment filed against Headley accused him of conspiring with others to plan and execute attacks in both Denmark and India, to which he has pled guilty.
He said cooperation between the Al Qaida and other terrorist groups has changed in the past year, and these groups have been able to withstand significant counter-terrorism pressure by sharing financial resources, training and recruits.
"We are increasingly concerned about the threats from these groups operating from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq. Their threats focus more on homeland attacks now, as we saw with the Christmas Day and Times Square attempted bombings," Mueller said.