Report: Al Qaeda Gaining Strength

WASHINGTON — Al Qaeda has rebuilt some of its pre-September 11, 2001, capabilities from remote hiding places in Pakistan, leading to a major spike in attacks last year in that country and neighboring Afghanistan, the Bush administration said yesterday.

Attacks in Pakistan more than doubled to 887 from 375 between 2006 and 2007, and the number of fatalities jumped by almost 300% to 1,335 from 335, the State Department said in its annual terrorism report. In Afghanistan, the number of attacks rose 16%, to 1,127 incidents last year, killing 1,966 people, 55% more than the 1,257 who died in 2006, it said.

More than 22,000 people were killed by terrorists around the world in 2007, 8% more than in 2006, although the overall number of attacks fell, the report says.