The killing of Osama bin Laden by US special forces can trigger a backlash from his supporters and a "new wave of terror" across a giant area surrounding Afghanistan, a regional security body said on Saturday.
Dominated by China and Russia, the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) also unites the mostly Muslim ex-Soviet Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and occupies three-fifths of Eurasia, populated by over 1.5 billion, or a quarter of the world's population.
"The recent elimination of terrorist No 1 Osama bin Laden is beyond all doubt a success of the United States, but it is in no way a victory over international terrorism," Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzgan Kazykhanov told a meeting with his counterparts from the SCO states.
"Craving for revenge, the supporters of al Qaeda, the Taliban movement and other terrorist and extremist organisations may cause a new wave of terror as they attempt to avenge for the death of their leader," Kazykhanov said. "In our view, the situation in Afghanistan will keep tension high in the region, remaining a source of terror, extremism and illegal trafficking of drugs and weapons."
He also said Pakistan and India were seeking to become full SCO members, and the summit was expected to adopt criteria for granting permanent membership in the regional body. He declined to say when, or which of the two countries, could join the SCO.