Report: Leader of Libyan group linked to Al Qaeda killed in airstrike

The leader of an Algerian group linked to Al Qaeda was killed in a coordinated attack with the United States, Libya's recognized government said.

In a statement, the government said that U.S. fighter jets conducted airstrikes Saturday night "in a mission which resulted in the death of the terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar." The strike is believed to have occurred in the eastern part of Libya near Tobruk, Al Jazeera reports, and was aimed at commanders of the Ansar al-Sharia group, who were at a meeting.

Belmokhtar was once the leader of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, but in 2012, split from the organization to start his own militia, Those Who Sign With Blood, which later became al-Mourabitoun. Belmokhtar was known as "Mr. Marlboro" because he smuggled cigarettes, and he also participated in attacks on governments in the region and abductions of tourists and United Nations officials.

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