The Pentagon confirmed Saturday night that U.S. special forces had captured alive Abu Anas al Libi in Tripoli, Libya. Libi, also known as Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, was wanted in connection with the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The operation was carried out by the Delta Force, a U.S. official told Fox News on Sunday."On October 5, the Department of Defense, acting under military authorities, conducted an operation to apprehend longtime Al Qaeda member Abu Anas al Libi in Libya," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said in a statement. "He is currently lawfully detained under the law of war in a secure location outside of Libia. Abu Anas al Libi has been indicted in the Southern District of New York in connection with his alleged role in Al Qaeda's conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and to conduct attacks against U.S. interests worldwide, which included Al Qaeda plots to attack U.S. forces stationed in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Somalia, as well as the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya."
Multiple senior U.S. officials told Fox News that Libi is being held on a ship at sea.
"Libi could be held at sea for a matter of weeks before he is turned over to law enforcement authorities," one senior U.S. official told Fox News.
Sources told Fox News that Libi will be read his rights by an elite FBI unit that was sent out for that purpose. US officials say that the Justice Department plans to prosecute him in a U.S. court.
| Rights? Rights? What rights? He murdered Americans abroad. Squeeze him dry like a tube of toothpaste. Then either jug him at Gitmo or toss him overboard... |
He is believed to have spent time in Sudan where Usama bin Laden was based in the early 1990s. After bin Laden was forced to leave Sudan, al Libi turned up in Britain in 1995 where he was granted political asylum in Britain under unclear circumstances and lived in Manchester. He apparently fled Britain in 2000 when his name was added to the FBI's most wanted list.
Al-Libi was believed to be a computer specialist with Al Qaeda. He studied electronic and nuclear engineering, graduating from Tripoli University, and was an anti-Qaddafi activist.