US military captures al Qaeda leader Abu Anas al Libi in Libya and Al-Shabaab head in Somalia
The US military reportedly captured two high profile targets Saturday.
Abu Anas al-Libi
Saturday in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, U.S. forces captured Abu Anas al Libi, an al Qaeda leader wanted for his role in the deadly 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
As al Libi was leaving his house for morning prayers, a group of 10 masked men surprised him, a source close to Libyan intelligence said.
In the second raid, a team of U.S. Navy SEALs in southern Somalia targeted the top leader of al-Shabaab, which was behind last month’s mall attack in Kenya.
“One could have gone without the other,” said retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona, CNN’s military analyst said discussing if he felt the operations were coordinated. “But the fact that they did them both, I think, is a real signal that the United States — no matter how long it takes — will go after these targets.”
The Pentagon’s chief spokesman George Little said al-Libi “is currently lawfully detained by the U.S. military in a secure location outside of Libya.” He did not disclose further details.
“As the result of a U.S. counterterrorism operation, Abu Anas al-Libi is currently lawfully detained by the U.S. military in a secure location outside of Libya,” Little said in a statement according to Agence France-Presse.
al-Libi has been on FBI’s most wanted list with a $5 million reward.
A senior U.S. military official said the raid was carried out by the U.S. Army’s Delta Force, which has responsibility for counterterrorism operations in North Africa.
[…] al Qaeda operative Abu Anas al-Libi, who was captured earlier this month, was known to be in Libya to setup a “clandestine terrorist network inside the country. Al-Libi […]