The Libyan government on Sunday condemned what it called the “kidnapping” of one of its citizens who was taken into custody outside his home in Tripoli in a highly unusual covert operation carried out by the U.S. military.
U.S. officials hailed the capture of Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, who was wanted in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, an intelligence coup that will disrupt efforts by al-Qaeda to strengthen its franchise in North Africa. The operation, carried out by Special Forces on Saturday, represented a rare foray by the U.S. military into the controversial practice of whisking terrorism suspects out of countries with which Washington does not have an extradition treaty.
“Members of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations literally can run but they can’t hide,” Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Sunday in Indonesia, where he is attending a summit.
U.S. officials said the operation was lawful under war powers that Congress granted the executive branch after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorism attacks. They also noted that Ruqai is on a U.N. sanctions list and has been indicted in federal court in New York. They released no information about where he is being detained, but suggested intelligence personnel are eager to interrogate him.
“This operation should be a clear reminder that the United States will seek justice against those who would attack Americans, and never forgets those who are victims of terrorism,” Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman at the National Security Council, said in a statement.
Libya’s government said in a statement issued on Sunday that it had not been consulted before U.S. troops snatched Ruqai outside his home.
“Since hearing the news, the Libyan government has been in contact with American authorities and has asked them to offer clarification,” the government said, arguing that Libyans who face terrorism charges should be tried at home.
The government noted, though, that it deems its relationship with the United States a “strategic partnership” that would not be imperiled by Saturday’s operation.
Since the 2011 civil war that toppled the regime of Moammar Gaddafi, Libya has been wracked by lawlessness, growing extremism and sporadic outbreaks of violence between rival militias. The country’s newly elected government wields little authority across the oil-rich country, where militias established during the conflict continue to hold the bulk of weapons and power.
Even Libya’s military leaders, who have received counterterrorism training and funding from the United States, expressed surprise at an operation that was reminiscent of the CIA’s rendition of terrorism suspects during the years that followed the Sept. 11 attacks.
“We found out from media outlets just like everybody else,” said Aly Sheikhi, a spokesman for the Libyan armed forces chief of staff. He said he had no additional information about the incident.
The closest historical parallel U.S. officials could point to on Sunday was the April 2011 detention of Amed Warsame, a Somali man who was accused of acting as a liaison between the al-Qaeda branches in his native country and one in Yemen. Warsame, who was seized aboard a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Aden, pleaded guilty this spring in federal court to providing material support to terrorist organizations. Warsame was held at sea for 40 days before being arraigned in New York.
U.S. officials hailed the capture of Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, who was wanted in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, an intelligence coup that will disrupt efforts by al-Qaeda to strengthen its franchise in North Africa. The operation, carried out by Special Forces on Saturday, represented a rare foray by the U.S. military into the controversial practice of whisking terrorism suspects out of countries with which Washington does not have an extradition treaty.
“Members of al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations literally can run but they can’t hide,” Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Sunday in Indonesia, where he is attending a summit.
U.S. officials said the operation was lawful under war powers that Congress granted the executive branch after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorism attacks. They also noted that Ruqai is on a U.N. sanctions list and has been indicted in federal court in New York. They released no information about where he is being detained, but suggested intelligence personnel are eager to interrogate him.
“This operation should be a clear reminder that the United States will seek justice against those who would attack Americans, and never forgets those who are victims of terrorism,” Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman at the National Security Council, said in a statement.
Libya’s government said in a statement issued on Sunday that it had not been consulted before U.S. troops snatched Ruqai outside his home.
“Since hearing the news, the Libyan government has been in contact with American authorities and has asked them to offer clarification,” the government said, arguing that Libyans who face terrorism charges should be tried at home.
The government noted, though, that it deems its relationship with the United States a “strategic partnership” that would not be imperiled by Saturday’s operation.
Since the 2011 civil war that toppled the regime of Moammar Gaddafi, Libya has been wracked by lawlessness, growing extremism and sporadic outbreaks of violence between rival militias. The country’s newly elected government wields little authority across the oil-rich country, where militias established during the conflict continue to hold the bulk of weapons and power.
Even Libya’s military leaders, who have received counterterrorism training and funding from the United States, expressed surprise at an operation that was reminiscent of the CIA’s rendition of terrorism suspects during the years that followed the Sept. 11 attacks.
“We found out from media outlets just like everybody else,” said Aly Sheikhi, a spokesman for the Libyan armed forces chief of staff. He said he had no additional information about the incident.
The closest historical parallel U.S. officials could point to on Sunday was the April 2011 detention of Amed Warsame, a Somali man who was accused of acting as a liaison between the al-Qaeda branches in his native country and one in Yemen. Warsame, who was seized aboard a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Aden, pleaded guilty this spring in federal court to providing material support to terrorist organizations. Warsame was held at sea for 40 days before being arraigned in New York.