France, UK urge vigilance after bin Laden death

The death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden will not remove the threat of terrorism and the West must be vigilant for revenge attacks, France and Britain said on Monday as they hailed his killing by U.S. forces.

President Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the killing as a major coup in the fight against terrorism, but both he and Foreign Minister Alain Juppe warned it would not spell the demise of al Qaeda.

British Prime Minister David Cameron also said in London that particular vigilance would be necessary in the weeks ahead.

"The scourge of terrorism has undergone a historic defeat, but this is not the end of al Qaeda. The fight against these criminals must continue without respite and bring together all countries that are victims of these crimes," Sarkozy said.

U.S. forces killed bin Laden in an overnight operation in Pakistan, ending a decade-long worldwide hunt for the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks [nN02183671].

Sarkozy said France saluted the determination of the United States in hunting down bin Laden and he echoed President Barack Obama in describing his death as justice for the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks on New York and Washington.

Juppe said the killing would be extremely symbolic, but said others would step up to fill bin Laden's shoes.

"Al Qaeda's structure remains in place, there is a number two and a number three. We have seen this when in Afghanistan a network has been dismantled and right away a replacement appears," Juppe told Europe 1 radio.

"There are decentralised groups, who claim links to al Qaeda but have a certain autonomy, that will continue their work," he added. "The terror threat has not disappeared and so we must remain completely vigilant."

The Lyon-based International police agency Interpol also called for extra vigilance to what it said was a heightened terror risk from al Qaeda or affiliated groups.

"The world's most-wanted international terrorist is no more, but the death of bin Laden does not represent the demise of al Qaeda affiliates and those inspired by al Qaeda, who have and will continue to engage in terrorist attacks around the world," Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said.

"We therefore need to remain united and focused in our ongoing cooperation and fight, not only against this global threat but also against terrorism by any group anywhere."