Libya wants answers over raid by US commandos

Libya has called for an explanation after the US captured a man it alleges is an al-Qaeda leader during a raid in Tripoli. Ali Zeidan, Libya’s prime minister, suggested on Sunday that his government was not informed of the plan before US commandos seized Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, known by his alias Anas al-Liby, in the Libyan capital on Saturday.

“The Libyan government is following the news of the kidnapping of a Libyan citizen who is wanted by US authorities,” Zeidan said in a statement. “The Libyan government has contacted US authorities to ask them to provide an explanation.”
US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that the capture was “appropriate and legal”.

The US top diplomat told journalists at a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Indonesia’s Bali island that the US does “everything in its power that is appropriate and legal” to hunt down al-Qaeda members.

But he added that Washington “does not go into the specifics” with foreign governments about operations such as the one that led to the capture of Liby.

Liby is wanted by the US for his alleged role in the East Africa embassy bombings that killed 224 people in 1998. The US had offered $5m for information leading to his capture. US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel praised the US military on Sunday saying that the raid underlined the precision, global reach and capabilities of the US forces.

George Little, a spokesman for the US Defence Department, said that Liby was being “lawfully detained by the US military in a secure location outside of Libya”.

Al Jazeera’s Jeanne Meserve, reporting from Washington, added that even though the US had said that Liby would be interrogated where he was being held before he was brought to justice, it was unclear whether he would be brought to justice in a US courtroom or a miltary tribunal.

Mohammed El-Hadi, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Tripoli, quoted Liby’s wife as saying that he was seized as he headed to morning prayer by eight to 10 masked men. “His wife saw the men getting out of two cars in front of the house … she added that the masked men immediately attacked him before he could get out of his car,” our correspondent said.

“She said she was listening to them and heard some of them speaking in a Libyan dialect … and some information indicated they were Libyan special forces.” – AP