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U.S. President Barack Obama announcing live on television the death of Osama bin Laden, from the East Room of the White House in Washington on May 1, 2011. Image Credit: Reuters

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia hopes the death of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden will support international anti-terror efforts, the state-run SPA news agency reported on Monday.

“Saudi Arabia hopes that the elimination of the leader of the terrorist Al-Qaeda organisation will be a step towards supporting international efforts aimed at combating terrorism and dismantling its cells,” the agency said, quoting an unidentified official.

Baghdad, Iraq: Iraq is "delighted" by the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told agencies on Monday, noting that thousands of Iraqis had died "because of his ideologies".

"We, like many people in the world, are delighted to see an end to his mentality and his devious ideology," Zebari said.

"Iraqis suffered a great deal at the hands of this man and his terrorist organisation. Thousands of Iraqis were murdered and killed because of his ideologies."

Zebari said that while "Al-Qaeda will not disappear as such; it is a major blow to the organisation."

Brussels: NATO's chief hailed the death of Osama bin Laden on Monday but said the alliance will continue its mission in Afghanistan to ensure the country never again becomes a terrorist haven.

"I congratulate President Barack Obama and all those who made the operation against Osama bin Laden possible," Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement.

"This is a significant success for the security of NATO allies and all the nations which have joined us in our efforts to combat the scourge of global terrorism to make the world a safer place for all of us," he said.

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Some 140,000 NATO-led troops are deployed in Afghanistan amid growing European public weariness over the war, launched by the United States to fight the Al-Qaeda network and its Taliban hosts in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

"As terrorism continues to pose a direct threat to our security and international stability, international cooperation remains key and NATO is at the heart of that cooperation," said Rasmussen, who also paid tribute to the thousands of victims of terrorism around the world.

"NATO allies and partners will continue their mission to ensure that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for extremism, but develops in peace and security.

"We will continue to stand for the values of freedom, democracy and humanity that Osama bin Laden wanted to defeat."

Kabul, Afghanistan: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Monday that Osama Bin Laden had "paid for his actions" after he was killed in an operation by US special forces near the capital of neighbouring Pakistan.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai addresses the media at the presidential palace in Kabul on May 2, 2011 (Image Credit: Reuters)

President Karzai lauded bin Laden's death as a serious blow to terrorism Monday and argued that the strike in Pakistan proves the real fight against terrorists is outside his country's borders.

"For years we have said that the fight against terrorism is not in Afghan villages and houses," President Karzai told an assembly of district government officials in Kabul, as the hall erupted in applause. "It is in safe havens, and today that was shown to be true."

He offered his appreciation to international and Afghan forces who have lost their lives in the nearly 10-year war in Afghanistan and expressed hope that bin Laden's death could mean the end of terrorism. But he said now is the time to stop assaults that endanger or harass Afghan civilians.

"Stop bombarding Afghan villages and searching Afghan people," Karzai said.

Karzai pledged, however, that Afghanistan stands ready to do its part to help fight terrorists and extremists.

"We are with you and we are your allies," he said, noting that many Afghans had died because of bin Laden's terror network.

"Osama bin Laden was someone whose hands were dipped in the blood of thousands and thousands of Afghanistan's children, youth and elders," Karzai told reporters outside the building where he gave his speech. 

Islamabad, Pakistan: Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday convened emergency talks with his prime minister and security chiefs in Islamabad following US confirmation that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

The meeting between Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and the heads of "relevant departments and agencies" ended a short while ago, presidency spokesman Farhatullah Babar told agencies.

There has been silence from the civil and military administration on the pre-dawn operation conducted in the north-western Pakistani town of Abbottabad.

"The foreign office will issue a formal statement of the government of Pakistan on the Osama bin Laden incident," he said.

London, United Kingdom: Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday that the country would have to remain vigilant following the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan during an operation by U.S. forces.

"This news will be welcomed right across our country," he said in a televised statement from his official country residence Chequers.

"Of course, it does not mark the end of the threat we face from extremist terror. Indeed, we will have to be particularly vigilant in the weeks ahead. But it is, I believe, a massive step forward."

He said bin Laden, who was killed on Sunday in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan, had been responsible for ordering the death of many British citizens both at home and in other parts of the world.

"Above all today we should think of the victims of the poisonous extremism that this man has been responsible for," Cameron added.

Milan, Italy: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday hailed the killing of Osama bin Laden as a "great outcome in the fight against evil."

"The world has been waiting for this news for 10 years," Berlusconi said.

"This is a great outcome in the fight against evil, in the fight against terrorism, a great outcome for the United States and for all democracies," he said.

Madrid, Spain: The death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is a "decisive step in the fight against international terrorism," the Spanish government said Monday.

"The government reiterates its commitment to cooperating with the United States and other nations in the fight against terrorism wherever it is developed or carried out," it said in a statement.

Spain suffered its worst-ever terror attack on March 11, 2004, when bombs exploded on packed commuter trains in a Madrid suburb, killing 191 people and wounding 1,841 others in an attack attributed to a local cell of Islamic extremists inspired by Al-Qaeda.

The early morning bombing was the deadliest terror attack in the West since the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, which were masterminded by Bin Laden.

Berlin, Germany: The death of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is "good news" for all who love peace, but his demise does not mean "terrorism" has been defeated, Germany's foreign minister said Monday.

"Osama bin Laden was one of the world's most brutal terrorists. He has the lives of thousands of innocent people on his conscience," Guido Westerwelle said in a statement.

"It is good news for all the people of the world who love peace and think freely that the bloody work of this terrorist has been stopped."

He added however: "This does not mean of course that the struggle against terrorism and extremism is over yet. We must continue to be vigilant."

Talking on public radio, he said: "It cannot be ruled out that there are other accomplices who will try again to carry out appalling deeds throughout the world now that Osama bin Laden has been stopped."

Budapest, Hungary: EU president Hungary cautioned on Monday that the fight against terrorism was far from over even as it greeted the death of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden as "good news."

"The US government scored a significant achievement by eliminating the terrorist leader, but this does not mean the end of the fight against terrorism," Hungary's Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi told national radio MR.

"The important thing now is to watch the reaction in the Muslim world, how the countries that are in the midst of change will react, see if these countries choose the path of radicalism or rather a moderate path."

"One of our civilisation's biggest enemies is no more, that's good news. But we must be prepared to deal with this new situation," he warned.

Tokyo, Japan: Japan's Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto said on Monday that the country welcomed the death of Osama bin Laden as "significant progress of counter-terrorism measures”, his ministry said.

"I pay respect to the US officials concerned," Matsumoto said in Paris, according to a foreign ministry statement. "While his death was confirmed, it does not mean that terrorism was eliminated."

Moscow, Russia: Russia on Monday hailed the death of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden as a great success, adding that it was willing to step up its cooperation with the United States in the fight against terror.

Washington, US: The US State Department on Sunday issued a global travel alert to all US citizens following the death of Al Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden warning of "enhanced potential" for anti-American violence.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Sunday that he hoped the dramatic killing of Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that brought down the city's Twin Towers, would comfort those who lost loved ones that day.

"The killing of Osama Bin Laden does not lessen the suffering that New Yorkers and Americans experienced at his hands, but it is a critically important victory for our nation -- and a tribute to the millions of men and women in our armed forces and elsewhere who have fought so hard for our nation," he said in a statement.

The death of the world's most wanted terrorist Osama Bin Laden marked "a victory for America," former president George W. Bush said on Sunday.

Bush, who initiated the "war on terror" to hunt down Al Qaida leaders after the September 11, 2001 attacks launched at the start of his presidency, said he had been informed of the news by his successor US President Barack Obama.

"I congratulated him and the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission. They have our everlasting gratitude," Bush said in a statement released by his office.

"The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done," he added.