Obama would ‘repeat Bin Laden raid’ for other militant leaders

He said, ahead of a European visit, the US was mindful of Pakistani sovereignty but said the US could not allow "active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action".

The killing of Bin Laden by US forces in a Pakistani garrison town on 2 May strained ties between the two allies.

Asked what he would do if one of al-Qaeda's top leaders, or the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, was tracked down to a location in Pakistan or another sovereign territory, he said the US would take unilateral action if required.

"Our job is to secure the United States," BBC reports in an interview. "We are very respectful of the sovereignty of Pakistan. But we cannot allow someone who is actively planning to kill our people or our allies' people.

"We can't allow those kind of active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action."

Bin Laden, the Saudi-born leader of al-Qaeda, was killed in a raid by US Navy Seal commandos. They stormed the compound where he was living in Abbottabad, a town that is home to Pakistan's main military academy.

The discovery that Bin Laden had been living there embarrassed the Pakistani military, and led to renewed suspicions that he had enjoyed protection from some members of the Pakistani security forces.

The Islamabad government strongly denied such suggestions and said the US raid had undermined the country's sovereignty.

A resolution approved by Pakistani MPs earlier this month said the country would "no longer tolerate such actions and a repeat of unilateral measures could have dire consequences for peace and security in the region and the world".