Sen. Burr: al-Qaida Threat Most Serious Since 9/11

The menacing al-Qaida conversations that resulted in the U.S. shuttering 19 embassies and consulates are the most credible terror threats since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina says.

"I’ve never had a threat that worries me as much as this one does," Burr, a Republican, told the Charlotte Observer.

Burr, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, added the odds are "extremely high" the terrorists behind the threat will attack.

"I can’t say when or where. Without the elimination of the individuals, it’s impossible for me to conclude that the threat or the intent has gone," he told the newspaper.

The State Department shut down the embassies and consulates last week after intercepting a conference call of al-Qaida leaders. They have since been reopened with the exception of the embassy in Sanaa, Yemen.