WASHINGTON — A high-ranking al-Qaida leader was killed Saturday in an American airstrike against the terrorist organization’s North Africa affiliate in the desert of southwest Libya, U.S. Africa Command announced Wednesday. One other al-Qaida terrorist was killed in the strike and no civilians were killed, according to the statement. AFRICOM said the strike was launched in coordination with Libya’s Government of National Accord, the nation’s UN-recognized government. It was the second airstrike U.S. warplanes have conducted in Libya in 2018, according to the Pentagon. AFRICOM said the strike was conducted under authorities approved by Congress in the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, powers provided the Pentagon to strike al-Qaida in the weeks following the terrorist attack on New York and Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 28, 2018 17:14 UTC