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US says airstrike killed top al-Qaida leader in Libya
The military’s Africa Command’s Wednesday statement said Abu Dawud had trained recruits by the terror network’s North Africa branch, known as Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
The US military says its airstrike last weekend in southwestern Libya killed two al-Qaida militants, including a top recruiter, Musa Abu Dawud.
The military’s Africa Command’s Wednesday statement said Abu Dawud had trained recruits by the terror network’s North Africa branch, known as Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
In 2016, the United States said Abu Dawud had been involved in “terrorist activity” since 1992 and labelled him a “specially designated global terrorist.”
AFRICOM said he “provided critical logistics support, funding and weapons to AQIM, enabling the terrorist group to threaten and attack US and Western interests in the region.”
AFRICOM said the March 24 airstrike near the town of Ubari didn’t kill any civilians.
Islamic extremists expanded their reach in Libya amid the chaos that followed the 2011 uprising.
