“God willing, the nuclear weapons will not fall into the hands of the Americans, and the mujahideen would take them and use them against the Americans.” Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, al Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan, made this statement in an interview with Al Jazeera aired Sunday.

Al-Yazid is known as the third in command of al Qaeda. He was believed to be killed by a U.S. drone in August 2008. However, he resurfaced in February, when he threatened India with more Mumbai-style attacks if it attacked Pakistan. He has also claimed responsibility for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

“The strategy of the (al Qaeda) organization in the coming period is the same as in the previous period: to hit the head of the snake, the head of tyranny—the United States,” he said. “That can be achieved through continued work on the open fronts and also by opening new fronts in a manner that achieves the interests of Islam and Muslims and by increasing military operations that drain the enemy financially.”

The U.S. has had a degree of success in fighting al Qaeda, especially in Iraq. Michael Griffin, author of Reaping the Whirlwind: Afghanistan, al Qaeda and the Holy War, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that he thinks al Qaeda “isn’t as powerful an organization as it was last year.”

However, Griffin stated that al Qaeda was working with the Taliban. The two groups are loosely cooperating on a day-to-day basis and are also working together on larger, more high-profile operations, especially in Pakistan.

“When the military in Pakistan … was making peace agreements with the Taliban … they were effectively making peace agreements with al Qaeda, it had got to the point that al Qaeda and the Pakistan Taliban … were so closely identified,” he said.

Estimates vary on the number of nuclear weapons Pakistan owns. U.S. military intelligence has estimated that Pakistan has 60 bombs, plus the planes and missiles necessary to deliver them to a wide range of targets.

If the Taliban got hold of any of these weapons, the results could be catastrophic—especially in light of its relationship with al Qaeda.

For a detailed analysis on the Pakistan nuclear threat, read “Wildly Explosive Real Estate.”