The Hill News

A leading Republican senator said Sunday the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden does not remove the terror threat against the United States. 

Amid a backdrop of jubilation surrounding the slaying of bin Laden, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) said the U.S. much remain vigilant.

"The reported death of Osama bin Laden is welcome news, but it in no way eliminates the threat from the terrorism he espoused," he said in a statement. "This is another reminder that Americans cannot hide from global affairs."

Despite displaying a closeness to President Obama on past foreign policy issues, Lugar made no mention of the president in his statement. The Indiana senator split with the president over the U.S. military intervention in Libya and faces a tough reelection in 2012.

Lugar -- a proponent of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia that Obama also championed -- said that bin Laden's kil! ling highlights the need to prevent nuclear proliferation.

"Americans must continue to be vigilant to ensure that terrorist groups and rouge states do not obtain weapons of mass destruction, a goal that I and many other Americans have sought for 20 years," he said.