The Libyan government Sunday said al-Qaida connected terror leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar was killed in an American airstrike.
Belmokhtar was the former leader of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, and had been charged in 2013 by federal prosecutors over his involvement in the Algerian gas plant raid that same year, which ended with 37 hostages, including three American, dead.
The raid and subsequent hostage-taking occurred in retaliation over continued French use of Algerian airspace to attack terrorists in Mali.
Belmokhtar had also been known as,”Mr. Marlboro,” in reference to the large-scale cigarette smuggling operation he used to fund his Jihad.
A U.S official confirmed to CNN that the one-eyed Belmokhtar was the target of the manned aircraft operation. The source, unlike Libyan officials, wouldn’t confirm his death, saying U.S operatives are still assessing the outcome of the operation.