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Killing of veteran militant in Libya probable but not certain: French minister

Xinhua, June 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday said veteran Algerian jihadist, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, was probably killed during an U.S. strike at the weekend, but uncertain to confirm the death.

"We are not sure. There was a raid by the U.S. army, which targeted a place where he was supposed to be, but I can't confirm it at this stage, it's very likely but not certain," Le Drian told the news channel BFMTV.

"As it is not proved, I do not confirm," he added, echoing Washington's uncertainty about the militant's fate.

On Sunday, Libya's government said Belmokhtar, commander of the al Qaeda-affiliated radical group the Al-Murabitoon, had died alongside other militant leaders during a strike in the country's eastern region.

But, Ansar al Sharia militant group denied the militant's death, and listed in a statement on its Twitter account, the names of the killed insurgents.

Belmokhtar was responsible for killing at least 37 hostages, including three Americans, in a deadly attack on a gas plant in Algeria in 2013. He has been reported dead several times in the past. Endit