The United States military on Wednesday confirmed that a high-ranking member of al-Qaida was killed last Saturday by an airstrike in Libya, The Hill reports.
Musa Abu Dawud, who was identified by the State Department in 2016 as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist," as a senior leader for al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, was killed along with another militant by a precision strike in southwestern Libya, according to Africa Command or Africom.
"Now that operational reporting and the battle damage assessment is fully complete, the command is able to confirm the death of Dawud," Africom said.
"Dawud trained AQIM recruits in Libya for attack operations in the region," Africom said. "He provided critical logistics support, funding and weapons to AQIM, enabling the terrorist group to threaten and attack U.S. and Western interests in the region."
He planned multiple attacks in 2013, one on a military barracks in Khenchela, Algeria which injured multiple soldiers, and one on a Tunisian military patrol near Mount Chaambi that killed nine.
"Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, such as ISIS, have taken advantage of under-governed spaces in Libya to establish sanctuaries for plotting, inspiring, and directing terror attacks; recruiting and facilitating the movement of foreign terrorist fighters; and raising and moving funds to support their operations," Africom said.
"Left unaddressed, these organizations could continue to inflict casualties on the civilian populations and security forces, and plot attacks against U.S. citizens and allied interests in the region."
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