Former CIA director David Petraeus was sneaked into the Capitol today, away from the media, to face lawmakers’ questions about the attack on the US Consulate in Libya – just one week after he resigned over an extramarital affair.

US president Barack Obama has said he has no evidence the scandal that ended David Petraeus’s career has had a negative impact on US national security.

The sex scandal that felled CIA Director David Petraeus widened to ensnare the top US commander in Afghanistan, an improbable drama unfolding at a critical time in the Afghan war effort and just as President Barack Obama was hoping for a smooth transition in his national security team.

The sex scandal that led to the resignation of CIA director David Petraeus has widened, with the top US commander in Afghanistan under investigation for alleged “inappropriate communications” with a woman who is said to have received threatening emails from General Petraeus’ former lover.

CIA director David Petraeus was shocked to learn last summer that his mistress was suspected of sending threatening emails warning another woman to stay away from him, former staff members and friends have told the Associated Press.

FBI agents are at the home of the woman whose affair with retired General David Petraeus led to his resignation as CIA director.

Former CIA boss David Petraeus is “devastated” after being forced to resign over his affair with a younger woman, one of his former aides has said.

Members of the US Congress are demanding more details about the FBI investigation that unmasked an extramarital affair between ex-CIA director David Petraeus and his biographer.

David Petraeus, the retired four-star general renowned for spearheading military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned abruptly as director of the CIA after admitting to an extramarital affair.

US president Barack Obama said last night his re-election means Americans support his approach for avoiding a looming “fiscal cliff” that threatens a new recession — and that his approach means the country’s wealthiest people will have to pay more in taxes.

David Petraeus has resigned as the director of US intelligence agency the CIA after admitting he had an extra-marital affair.

The White House was told that a militant group had claimed responsibility for the violence in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the US ambassador and three other Americans, two hours after the US consulate came under attack, it has emerged.

Iran is prepared to launch attacks inside the US, a top American intelligence official has claimed.

DAVID PETRAEUS, the former general who gained prominence charting US strategy in the Afghan and Iraq wars, has been sworn in as director of the CIA.

US General David Petraeus, Washington’s new intelligence chief, handed over command of US and NATO-led troops in Afghanistan after a tentative start was made to a gradual process of transferring security to Afghan forces.

US General David Petraeus handed over command of American and coalition forces in Afghanistan to General John Allen today, transferring responsibility for the nearly 10-year war as Kabul’s international allies draw up exit plans from the conflict.

Nato defence ministers were today discussing the future of their mission in Afghanistan ahead of a decision by the Obama administration on how many of the 100,000 American troops to pull out of the war in July.

The killing of Osama bin Laden may weaken al-Qaida’s influence on the Afghan Taliban, the US military commander in Afghanistan has said.

The US Afghanistan commander General David Petraeus is to be made the new head of the CIA, security sources have said.

The US Afghanistan commander general David Petraeus is to be made new head of the CIA, security sources have said.

Afghanistan’s president has rejected a US apology for the mistaken killing of nine Afghan boys in a Nato air attack, saying civilian casualties were no longer acceptable.

AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai yesterday told US General David Petraeus, the commander of international troops, that his apology after nine children died in a NATO air strike was “not enough”.

AN investigation into claims international troops killed scores of civilians in northeast Afghanistan escalated into a feud between President Hamid Karzai and senior US military officials who cited a report that Afghan parents have been known to discipline children by burning their hands and feet.

In a holiday-season visit, President Barack Obama has told US troops in Afghanistan they are succeeding "in their vital mission fighting terrorism".

British Prime Minister David Cameron will meet the top US general in Afghanistan today amid new claims over the role American forces played in the death of British aid worker Linda Norgrove.

British aid worker Linda Norgrove may have been killed by a grenade thrown by US troops trying to rescue her from Taliban kidnappers in Afghanistan, British Prime Minister David Cameron said today.

The US government turned up the pressure on the head of a small church who plans to burn copies of the Koran on September 11, warning him that doing so could endanger US troops and Americans everywhere.

THE US commander of the Afghan war warned yesterday that a decision by American evangelicals to burn the Koran on September 11 would endanger his troops as the Muslim world reacted angrily to the plan.

A US church minister today insisted he will go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran in protest at the September 11 attacks despite the top general in Afghanistan warning it endanger American troops.

The top US commander in Afghanistan warned that a US church’s threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book could endanger US troops and Americans worldwide.

THE top US military commander in Afghanistan yesterday blasted as “reprehensible” the release of Afghan war documents, saying that US partners named in them have been put at risk.

A minibus packed with civilians struck a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan early today, killing six on board and wounding nine, officials said.

A ROGUE Afghan soldier attacked his coalition allies with a rocket-propelled grenade and other weapons yesterday, killing three British troops and wounding four more before fleeing, officials said.

The top Republican on the US Senate Armed Services Committee said Nato and Afghan troops would prevail in the war if they could succeed in securing and bolstering governance in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

US General David Petraeus today formally assumed command of the 130,000-strong international force in Afghanistan at a time of rising casualties and growing scepticism about the direction of the nearly nine-year-old war.

General David Petraeus, the new commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, called for unity today in the civilian and military effort to turn back the Taliban and stabilise the troubled country.

General David Petraeus landed in the Afghan capital today to take command of US and international forces fighting the nearly nine-year-old war, Nato said.

Nato’s newly appointed commander of Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, sought to reassure allies today that the war against the Taliban was going well despite rising military casualties and problems regaining control over key parts of the country.

Afghan and international troops captured a Taliban district chief in a four-hour gun battle in the southern province of Helmand, Nato said today.

The US Senate unanimously confirmed General David Petraeus as the new commander of the Afghanistan war today.

THE general tapped to take over command of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan braced lawmakers yesterday for an escalation in violence, playing down hopes for a swift turnaround after nine years of war.

The Nato-led command stressed that military operations to secure vast areas of Afghanistan would not be delayed by the ouster of its top commander and mounting casualties.

US AFGHAN commander Stanley McChrystal was sacked by Barack Obama last night for publicly criticising the President.

US Afghan commander Stanley McChrystal was sacked by Barack Obama tonight for publicly criticising the president.