A top Islamist militant who ordered a deadly attack on an Algerian gas plant two years ago has been killed in a US air strike in Libya, officials say. The veteran Islamist militant blamed for masterminding an Algerian gas field attack and running smuggling routes across North Africa, was ‘killed ‘ on Saturday.
Libya’s recognized government said said the strike had killed the militant who became a major figure in insurgencies across North Africa and the Sahel and had earned the nickname the “Uncatchable” from the French military.
The U.S. military confirmed Belmokhtar had been targeted in the air strike on Saturday night, but did not say if he had been killed. Belmokhtar has been reported killed several times, including in 2013 when he was believed to have died in fighting in Mali.
