US nabs top Qaeda leader from Libya

Washington: US forces struck two militant targets in Africa on Saturday, snatching a top Al-Qaeda suspect from the streets of Tripoli and launching a pre-dawn raid against an al-Shebab leader’s home in Somalia.

In Libya, US forces seized a militant known as Abu Anas al-Libi, a long-sought Al-Qaeda operative indicted in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. A separate raid in the southern Somali port of Barawe failed to capture the senior al-Shebab militant and it was unclear whether he had been killed, but a US official said several Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab members had been slain.

It was reportedly “prompted” by the deadly militant siege on a Nairobi shopping mall last month. The operation in Libya however appeared to be a success. “As the result of a US counterterrorism operation, Abu Anas al-Libi is currently lawfully deta-ined by the US military in a secure location outside of Libya,” Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement.

A source close to Libi said he was snatched by armed men in Tripoli. Libi, who was on the FBI’s most wanted list with a $5 million reward, was indi-cted in US federal court in New York for allegedly playing a key role in the east Africa bombings.

The attacks left more than 200 people dead. Al-Libi was believed to be a computer specialist with Al-Qaeda. He studied electronic and nuclear engineering, graduating from Tripoli University, and was an anti-Gadhafi activist.

His capture ended a 15-year manhunt for a key Al-Qaeda operative, who was born under the name Nazih Abdul Hamed Al-Raghie. It also paved the way for Libi, 49, to be brought to the United States to face trial.

“We hope that this makes clear that the US will never stop in its effort to hold those accountable who conduct acts of terror,” said secretary of state John Kerry on Sunday. The action should also make clear that “those members of Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organisations literally can run, but they can’t hide,” said Mr Kerry, speaking during a break from meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

The US raid took place in broad daylight with the knowledge of the Libyan government, a US official told CNN. Libyan security services denied the claim, saying they were unaware of any kidnapping or arrest of the man.

A Somali intelligence official said the target of the raid at Barawe, about 110 miles from Mogadishu, was a Chechen commander, who had been wounded and his guard killed.

Police said a total of seven people were killed. It quoted an unnamed US security official as saying that the Barawe raid was planned a week and a half ago. “It was prompted by the Westgate attack,” the official said.

Residents said fighting erupted at about 3 am on Saturday. “We were awoken by heavy gunfire last night, we thought an al-Shebab base at the beach was captured,” Sumira Nur, a mother of four, told Reuters. “We also heard sounds of shells, but we do not know where they landed.”

The New York Times quoted witnesses as saying that the firefight lasted more than an hour, with helicopters called in for air support. The paper quoted a senior Somali government official as saying that the government “was pre-informed about the attack.”

Earlier, al-Shebab militants said British and Turkish special forces had raided Barawe, killing a rebel fighter, but that a British officer had also been killed and others wounded. However, both UK and Turkey denied such involvement.

Al-Shebab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab said that commandos had stormed the beach by boat. “The bungled operation was carried out by white people, who came with two small boats from a larger ship out at sea... one Shebab guard was killed,” he said.

“Where the foreigners had been, afterwards we saw lots of blood, so maybe we wounded some.” The raid came 20 years after the “Black Hawk Down” battle in Moga-dishu, when eighteen US soldiers died.