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A veteran Islamist militant blamed for masterminding an Algerian gas field attack and running smuggling routes across North Africa, has been killed in a U.S. air strike inside Libya.

Libya’s internationally recognized government said the strike had killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an Algerian 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.