Al Qaeda operative Abu As al Libi dies in US hospital

New York, January 4: Abu As al Libi, an alleged al Qaeda operative accused of involvement in the bombings of US embassies in Africa who was captured by US special forces in Libya, died in a US hospital, CNN reported citing his son as saying on Saturday. The family was notified by his lawyer in the US that al Libi, whose real me was zih al–Ruqaii, died in a hospital on Friday evening, Abdel Mouin told CNN phone from Tripoli. The 50–year–old tive of Libya was accused of playing a role in the 1989 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The two bombings killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and injured thousands more. A document filed in court on Saturday by the Department of Justice said al Libi died after his already poor health suddenly worsened. On Wednesday, the letter filed with the judge presiding over the trial said, he “was taken from the Metropolitan Correctiol Center to a New York hospital due to sudden complications arising out of his long–standing medical problems.” Despite the care provided at the hospital, it said, his condition deteriorated rapidly and he passed away Friday evening. (IANS)