Al-Qaeda terrorist accused of embassy bombings dies in New York | World Defense

Al-Qaeda terrorist accused of embassy bombings dies in New York

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Abu Anas al-Libi dies a few days before his trial for allegedly masterminding the bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania


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A Libyan associate of Osama Bin Laden died in New York on Friday, days before he was due to stand trial for his alleged role in the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Abu Anas al-Libi, 50, was seized in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, by US commandos in October 2013. A former Manchester resident, he had been wanted for more than a decade and there was a $5 million reward for his arrest. Al-Libi had pleaded not guilty.

The al-Qaeda suspect has been in poor health and suffered liver disease as a result of hepatitis C.

His wife, who asked to be identified as Um Abdullah (mother of Abdullah), told the Associated Press news agency that al-Libi underwent liver surgery last month. She said he suffered complications after being sent back prematurely to New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center. He died in hospital on Friday.

The near-simultaneous bombings of two US embassies in Africa on Aug 7, 1998 introduced al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden to most Americans for the first time. The attacks killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and injured more than 4,500.


Al-Libi — whose real name was Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Ruqai — was accused of organising and conducting surveillance for the bombings.

Identifiable by a scar on the left side of his face, al-Libi had earned respect within al-Qaeda for his computer skills and outstanding performance at training camps in Afghanistan.

He was given asylum in Britain in 1995, settling in Manchester, but fled the country after being questioned by police in the aftermath of the embassy bombings. When his house was raided, police discovered a 180-page al-Qaeda manual on terrorist attacks and assassinations.

British MPs later questioned Theresa May, the Home Secretary, on how Al-Libi had been given political asylum in Britain, despite his known involvement in a Libyan terrorist organisation and his previous association with bin Laden. They also asked how he apparently managed to escape from Britain.

Al-Qaeda terrorist accused of embassy bombings dies in New York - Telegraph
 
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