Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that the Al-Qaida leadership resides in the federally-administered tribal areas (FATA) of Pakistan and the United States is determined to defeat them.

"The top priority, with respect to that strategy, is to defeat Al-Qaida, whose leadership resides in the FATA -- in the federal areas, the tribal areas -- in western Pakistan," Mullen said in his remarks at a luncheon held at the National Press Club in Washington on Wednesday.

Referring to the recent developments in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Mullen said things are now moving in the right direction and the United States now needs to remain engaged in both the countries.

"A year ago, not many people would have said that the Pakistani military could pull that (Swat) off, and yet they have made an awful lot of progress," he said.