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| Islamic State leader in Libya 'killed in US airstrike' | Islamic State leader in Libya 'killed in US airstrike' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A US military airstrike has killed the Islamic State’s leader in Libya, the Pentagon said on Saturday. The target of the strike was named as “Abu Nabil, aka Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi, an Iraqi national who was a long-time al-Qaida operative”. | A US military airstrike has killed the Islamic State’s leader in Libya, the Pentagon said on Saturday. The target of the strike was named as “Abu Nabil, aka Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi, an Iraqi national who was a long-time al-Qaida operative”. |
| Related: Syrian who apparently passed through Greece as refugee was 'one of Paris killers' | Related: Syrian who apparently passed through Greece as refugee was 'one of Paris killers' |
| The news followed the bomb and shooting attacks in Paris on Friday night in which the Paris prosecutor said later on Saturday 129 people were killed and 352 injured, 99 of them critically. | |
| In a statement, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said: “This operation was authorised and initiated prior to the terrorist attack in Paris.” | In a statement, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said: “This operation was authorised and initiated prior to the terrorist attack in Paris.” |
| Cook’s statement said: “On 13 November [Friday], the US military conducted an airstrike in Libya against Abu Nabil, [also known as] Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi, an Iraqi national who was a long-time al-Qaida operative and the senior [Isis] leader in Libya.” | Cook’s statement said: “On 13 November [Friday], the US military conducted an airstrike in Libya against Abu Nabil, [also known as] Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi, an Iraqi national who was a long-time al-Qaida operative and the senior [Isis] leader in Libya.” |
| The statement said Nabil had been killed in the strike, which US officials told Reuters was carried out by two F-15 aircraft.“Reporting suggests [Nabil] may also have been the spokesman in the February 2015 Coptic Christian execution video,” the statement continued, referring to a video which showed the beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts and prompted international outrage. | The statement said Nabil had been killed in the strike, which US officials told Reuters was carried out by two F-15 aircraft.“Reporting suggests [Nabil] may also have been the spokesman in the February 2015 Coptic Christian execution video,” the statement continued, referring to a video which showed the beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts and prompted international outrage. |
| “Nabil’s death will degrade [Isis’s] ability to meet the group’s objectives in Libya,” Cook continued, “including recruiting new [Isis] members, establishing bases in Libya, and planning external attacks on the United States. | “Nabil’s death will degrade [Isis’s] ability to meet the group’s objectives in Libya,” Cook continued, “including recruiting new [Isis] members, establishing bases in Libya, and planning external attacks on the United States. |
| “While not the first US strike against terrorists in Libya, this is the first US strike against an [Isis] leader in Libya and it demonstrates we will go after [Isis] leaders wherever they operate.” | “While not the first US strike against terrorists in Libya, this is the first US strike against an [Isis] leader in Libya and it demonstrates we will go after [Isis] leaders wherever they operate.” |
| The US military has also said it is “reasonably confident” that a Hellfire missile fired from a drone over the Syrian city of Raqqa on Thursday killed Mohammed Emwazi, the British man who was known as Jihadi John and who was filmed murdering a number of hostages held by Isis. | The US military has also said it is “reasonably confident” that a Hellfire missile fired from a drone over the Syrian city of Raqqa on Thursday killed Mohammed Emwazi, the British man who was known as Jihadi John and who was filmed murdering a number of hostages held by Isis. |
| Four years after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, Isis has steadily grown in Libya, controlling the city of Sirte. | Four years after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, Isis has steadily grown in Libya, controlling the city of Sirte. |