Kerry has reacted to the ‘kidnapping’ complaint from the Libyan government and confirmed that such kidnapping acts will be resumed under the pretext of fighting against terror elements.
"I hope the perception is in the world that people who commit acts of terror and who have been appropriately indicted by courts of law, by the legal process, will know that the United States of America is going to do anything in its power that is legal and appropriate in order to enforce the law and to protect our security," Kerry told reporters on Monday.
Libya voiced its concern on Sunday, a day after US forces captured in Tripoli a suspected terror element, Nazih Abdul-Hamed Ruqai, known by his alias Abu Anas el-Liby, wanted for his alleged role in the 1998 US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
“The Libyan government is following the news of the kidnapping of a Libyan citizen who is wanted by US authorities,” Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said as cited by Reuters. "The Libyan government has contacted US authorities to ask them to provide an explanation."
Zeidan reportedly fears that if he is accused of complicity with the US over the capture of the Libyan man, which could lead to his confrontation with the Islamist part of the government that came to power following West-helped Muammar Gaddafi’s ousting two years ago.
Instead of contributing to security, the US raid in Libya might lead to just the opposite, according to Abdul Bassit Haroun, a former Islamist militia commander who works with the Libyan government.
"This won't just pass," Haroun said, as cited by Reuters. "There will be a strong reaction in order to take revenge because this is one of the most important Al-Qaeda figures."
The US forces captured Liby in Tripoli, as they also made an attempt at seizing Al-Shabaab leader in Somalia. The operation was conducted by a US Navy SEAL team. Reports of the outcome are conflicting with some saying the team was forced to withdraw before it could confirm any casualties, and others insisting some of Al-Shabaab militants were killed.
A US official told AP the target of the raid by Navy SEALs in Somalia over the weekend was a Kenyan man named Abdulkadir Mohamed Abdulkadir.
The man, also known as Ikrima, was a known operator for the Somali militant group al-Shabab.
NJF/NJF