Aerial strike: US confirms Da’ish Libya hit

Pentagon says top militant Abu Nabil was killed in Nov 13 airstrike

WASHINGTON: The United States confirmed on Monday the death of a top Da’ish leader in Libya in a November 13 airstrike in the city of Derna.

The aerial strike carried out by F-15 aircraft hit a compound, where the US believed Abu Nabil aka Wisam al Zubaidi, was holed up.

The hit took place on the same day Paris attacks were carried out. Just a day earlier on November 12, the Pentagon had killed Jihadi John in Syria

The strike marked the first time the US had directly gone after Da’ish, which has established a self-proclaimed Islamic State, outside of Iraq or Syria.

Abu Nabil, an Iraqi national, once led al Qaeda operations in part of Iraq. At some point afterwards, he moved to eastern Libya to lead Da’ish operations there.

As in Iraq and Syria, Da’ish has thrived off chaos and violence in Libya, and has taken control of the city of Sirte. The terrorist group is believed to have hundreds of fighters in its ranks, urging them to return home with their frontline experiences.

On Monday, Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis also confirmed a senior leader of the al Qaeda-affiliated group al Shabaab was killed in a US military airstrike in Somalia carried out on December 2.

The Pentagon named him as Abdirahman Sandhere, also known as Ukash, and said the strike represented a significant blow to the group.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th,  2015.