Africa

Raids show US is pressuring al Qaeda, officials say

Pentagon says US forces seized Libyan man wanted for bombing embassies 15 years ago

A US embassy official secures the area around the embassy building after a powerful bomb blast in Nairobi in this photo taken in 1998. Senior al Qaeda figure Anas al-Liby, indicted by the United States for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa, was captured in Libya by a US team and is in American custody, officials said. Photograph: Reuters
A US embassy official secures the area around the embassy building after a powerful bomb blast in Nairobi in this photo taken in 1998. Senior al Qaeda figure Anas al-Liby, indicted by the United States for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa, was captured in Libya by a US team and is in American custody, officials said. Photograph: Reuters
Sun Oct 06 2013 - 19:58

Two US raids in Africa show the United States is pressuring al Qaeda, officials said today, though a failure in Somalia and an angry response in Libya also highlighted Washington's problems.

In Tripoli, US forces snatched a Libyan wanted over the bombings of the US embassy in Nairobi 15 years ago and whisked him out of the country, prompting Secretary of State John Kerry to declare that al Qaeda leaders “can run but they can’t hide”.

Nazih al-Ragye, better known by the cover name Abu Anas al-Liby, was seized by US forces in the Libyan capital yesterday, the Pentagon said.

Libya's prime minister Ali Zeidan today asked US authorities to explain the military raid.

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“The Libyan government is following the news of the kidnapping of a Libyan citizen who is wanted by US authorities,” Mr Zeidan’s office said in a statement. “The Libyan government has contacted to US authorities to ask them to provide an explanation.” (Reuters)