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Libya claims senior jihadi Belmokhtar killed in US 'counterterrorism strike' Libya claims jihadi leader Belmokhtar killed in US 'counter-terrorism strike'
(35 minutes later)
Libya’s recognised government said on Sunday that the militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, charged by the US with leading the deadly attack on a gas plant in Algeria in 2013, has been killed in an American air strike inside Libya. Libya’s recognised government said last night that the militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, charged by the US with leading the deadly attack on a gas plant in Algeria in 2013, has been killed in an American air strike.
Earlier, the Department of Defense said the US military conducted a counter-terrorism strike against an al Qaida-associated target in Libya on Saturday night, but were assessing results before providing more details. “The Libyan government in the east of Libya confirms that the US fighter jets conducted air strikes last night in a mission which resulted in the death of the terrorist Belmokhtar,” a spokesman said.
“The Libyan government in the east of Libya confirms that the US fighter jets conducted air strikes last night in a mission which resulted in the death of the terrorist Belmokhtar,” the Libyan government said. Earlier, the Department of Defense said the US military conducted a counter-terrorism strike against an al-Qaida-associated target in Libya on Saturday night, but were assessing results before providing more details.
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Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said she had no more information on the target of the strike. Unnamed American officials confirmed that Belmokhtar was the target of the strike by at least one American warplane, the New York Times reported, but they expressed caution about his fate. Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said she did not immediately have more information on the target of the strike.
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and Libya’s slide into chaos and fighting between two rival governments, the North African state has seen the rise of Islamist militant groups which are taking advantage of the turmoil. There were reports that hours after the air strike, a convoy of armed pickup trucks carrying wounded from the bombing arrived at Ajdabiya’s hospital, running into a firefight with regular army forces. Several militants were killed and wounded, and local sources say they retreated into the desert.
Some are allied with al-Qaida’s leadership, others have local loyalties and some have recently declared allegiance to Islamic State, which has been gaining ground. The bombing came as US officials were calling for a cessation of hostilities in Libya’s civil war, as Washington urges Libya’s rival governments to agree a UN-crafted peace plan by June 17, just before the onset of Ramadan.
The air strike came on the same day that Islamic State forces were pushed out of most of Derna, one of two Libyan towns they hold, by rival Islamists backed by government air strikes.
The US raid is the first American air strike since the 2011 NATO-led air campaign against Muammar Gaddafi during Libya’s Arab Spring revolution.
But US forces have conducted more recent operations in Libya. Two years ago Delta commandos captured Anas al Libi, blamed for the bombing of US embassies in Africa, from his home in Tripoli. Last June another commando raid seized Ahmed Al Khattala, currently on trial in the US on charges of killing US ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi in 2012.
Since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011 and Libya’s slide into chaos, the North African state has seen the rise of Islamist militant groups taking advantage of the turmoil. Some are allied with al-Qaida’s leadership, others have declared allegiance to Islamic State, which has been gaining ground.
Belmokhtar has been reported killed several times, including in 2013 when he was believed to have been killed in Mali. He has earned a reputation as one of the most elusive jihadi leaders in the region.Belmokhtar has been reported killed several times, including in 2013 when he was believed to have been killed in Mali. He has earned a reputation as one of the most elusive jihadi leaders in the region.
If confirmed, the death of Belmokhtar – who was blamed for orchestrating the attack on Algeria’s In Amenas gasfield that killed 35 hostages, and nicknamed “Uncatchable” by French forces – would be a major strike against al-Qaeda allied operations in the region. If confirmed, the death of Belmokhtar – who was blamed for orchestrating the attack on Algeria’s In Amenas gasfield that killed 38 hostages, and nicknamed “Uncatchable” by French forces – would be a major strike against al-Qaida allied operations in the region.
Libyan officials gave no further details about the area of the strike. But before the US statement, Libyan military sources said that an air strike had been carried on Saturday in Ajdabiya city near Benghazi, killing seven members of the Ansar al Sharia militant group. Libyan military sources said that an air strike had been carried on Saturday in Ajdabiya city near Benghazi, killing seven members of the Ansar al-Sharia militant group.
Belmokhtar, a one-eyed veteran of Afghanistan and Algeria’s own 1990s Islamist war, was long a major figure in Saharan smuggling, hostage-taking, arms trafficking and insurgencies, including the conflict in Mali.