# Al Qaeda leader captured in Libya



## ZmanTX (Oct 5, 2013)

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/05/world/africa/libya-al-qaeda-leader-captured/index.html


Finally got this guy!

ZM


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## DA SWO (Oct 5, 2013)

So SOF guys can go in on a capture/hit, but have to stay at home when the Embassy is attacked?:-/


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## amlove21 (Oct 5, 2013)

All the major news outlets reporting 2 strikes in Africa this morning. 

For all those wondering "where the next ten years will find us", here is your answer. 

*(CNN)* -- U.S. military forces were involved in two separate operations in Africa -- one of them targeting a member of the group Al-Shabaab, which was behind last month's Kenya mall attack, and the other going after an al Qaeda leader tied to the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies.

The Al-Shabaab raid took place in Somalia, where that terrorist group is based, sometime in the past 24 hours, a senior U.S. official said Saturday evening.

The team of U.S. Navy SEALs had to withdraw before it could confirm whether it killed the target because they came under fire, the official said. The SEALs made the "prudent decision" to withdraw rather than engage in further combat, according to the official.

The other mission ended in the capture of Abu Anas al Libi, who is suspected to have played a significant role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of American embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Nairobi, Kenya, U.S. officials said.

The key al Qaeda operative was captured by U.S. special operations forces in Tripoli, Libya, according to the officials.

This U.S. operation was conducted with the knowledge of the Libyan government, said one U.S. official.

It was not immediately known if the two operations were coordinated or even related: While Al-Shabaab is affiliated with al Qaeda, it is not known that al Libi had any connection with that group or was linked to last month's deadly attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall.

Still, it shows the U.S. military's capabilities to strike quickly against terrorists -- and not just using unmanned drones, as have been frequently used in Yemen, Pakistan and other locales.

*Al Libi tied to U.S. embassy bombings*

Al Libi has been high on the radar for years -- as evidenced by the fact he's on the FBI's list of "Most Wanted Terrorists," which notes there was a $5 million reward for information leading directly to his apprehension or conviction.

He is alleged to have played a key role in the August 7, 1998, bombings of American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. More than 200 people were killed and another 5,000 wounded in the Kenya attack, with 11 more dying in the other.

U.S. officials have wanted al Libi, 49, to face trial in an American court. As is, he's been indicted on charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, murder, destruction of American buildings and government property, and destruction of national defense utilities of the United States.

The al Qaeda member had been seen in Tripoli, as CNN was first to report back in September 2012, citing Western intelligence sources. These sources said there was concern that al Libi was working to establish an al Qaeda network in Libya.

"It's a huge deal to get him," said CNN's Nic Robertson, who has been covering al Qaeda in depth for decades. "He's a big player in al Qaeda (and) he is in one of the key target areas, the north of Africa."

Beyond any psychological impact on al Qaeda, al Libi's capture could potentially yield a wealth of information about the group's plans and capabilities. The terrorist network has shown particular strength of late in Africa, something he might be able to shed light on.

"Clearly, he may have useful information about the strength of al Qaeda and the Islamists in Libya," Robertson said. "He is somebody who is senior within al Qaeda. He was well respected, a good operative."

*Al-Shabaab blamed for Kenya mall attack*







Photos: Kenya mall attack
Al-Shabaab long has been a target of Washington as well: It was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government in March 2008. The group is seeking to turn Somalia into a fundamentalist Islamic state, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, though it has targeted people outside that African country as well.

While the Somali group has been linked to a number of attacks, its most recent one on Nairobi's Westgate Mall -- which left at least 67 people dead -- thrust it into the spotlight once again. Washington vowed to support Kenya's government after the bloody, multi-day raid, which raised concerns that something like it could happen in the United States.

Why exactly U.S. forces went after the group recently in southern Somalia wasn't immediately known.

It's not believed that any SEALs died in that raid.

South-central Somalia is where most of the group's foreign fighters and leaders live and is heavily guarded. The group there has been increasingly squeezed as Kenyan forces fight the group from the south and African Union forces come down from Mogadishu.

In the meantime, it's become even closer to al Qaeda -- with the two groups effectively merging last year, according to CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen.

"This is a group that has adopted al Qaeda's ideology wholesale," Bergen said of Al-Shabaab, noting that more and more it's reach extends beyond Somalia. "The reason they attacked the mall was no_t only because it was Kenyan, but also because it attracted a fair number of Western businessmen and others living in Nairobi."_

*Analyst: Operations send a 'real signal'*

The United States made significant efforts since those nearly simultaneous 1998 bombings to beef up its security at U.S. diplomatic posts. But as the September 11, 2012, attack on a U.S consulate compound in Benghazi, Libya -- which left four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, dead -- showed that, despite the added precautions, they are still very much under threat.

The twin military operations targeting alleged terrorists should raise such concerns even more, not just at U.S. embassies but at other places that Americans and other Westerns congregate.

Still, the fact U.S. forces struck out -- at a time when polls show the U.S. public has been skittish about more involvement in conflicts overseas -- is significant, says retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona.

The operations in Somalia and Libya may not have been coordinated, but they shared the fact they both went after "high-value targets," said Francona, an author and CNN military analyst. That means that others that might be in the U.S. government's crosshairs could have more reason to worry.

"One could have gone without the other, but the fact that they did them both, I think, is a real signal that the United States -- no matter how long it takes -- will go after these targets," Francona said.


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## amlove21 (Oct 5, 2013)

Merged.


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## DA SWO (Oct 5, 2013)

Don't fuck with POTUS's family.

Seriously, good job and I applaud the President for allowing the military to do something.

(Yo! Hillary, are you paying attention?).


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## Blizzard (Oct 5, 2013)

amlove21 said:


> For all those wondering "where the next ten years will find us", here is your answer.


Yep.


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## Salt USMC (Oct 6, 2013)

Looks like French is becoming relevant again

EDIT: Not in Libya or Somalia, mind you.  Africa in general.


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