Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said law-enforcement authorities are tracking terrorists with al-Qaeda leanings in the U.S.

“It is fair to say there are individuals in the United States who ascribe to al-Qaeda-type beliefs,” Napolitano said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. “And so it makes information-sharing, it makes effective law enforcement and it makes the shared responsibility of law enforcement ever so important.”

Information-sharing between federal, state and local law- enforcement agencies is “much improved” since the Sept. 11 attacks, she said.

In September, U.S. authorities indicted Najibullah Zazi, 24, an Afghan immigrant and former Denver airport shuttle-van driver, on federal terrorism conspiracy charges. They said bomb-making instructions were found on a laptop computer in his rental car.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the case had connections to al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001.

The threat of attack “is always with us,” Napolitano said today. Benchmark stock indexes trimmed gains after her comments.

Napolitano, 51, made her remarks in an interview with Bloomberg reporters. She touched on a variety of areas she oversees.