The family of a man, captured by US forces in Libya for his alleged role in the bombings of two American Embassies in Africa more than a decade ago, has denounced his arrest as an ‘act of piracy.’

US forces in the Libyan capital Tripoli snatched Abu Anas al-Liby, also known as Nazih al-Ragye, and took him out of the country on Saturday.

“It was an act of piracy by a foreign force to kidnap my brother. They should have submitted a document to the Libyan government and put my brother on trial here in the country,” al-Liby’s brother said.


Washington claims that Liby is linked to al-Qaeda. The United States had offered a five-million-dollar reward for information leading to his capture.

Liby is alleged to have played a major role in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Over 220 people reportedly died in the attacks.

On Saturday, Pentagon spokesman George Little said, “Abu Anas al-Liby is currently lawfully detained by the US military in a secure location outside of Libya.”

“When he was returning from dawn prayer at 6:30 a.m. there were four cars waiting for him in the street near the house. Once they parked the car out of the house two cars came and about 10 persons got out of it, maybe more, a masked group and another not masked,” his son said.

On Sunday, Libya’s Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said that the Libyan government is following the news of “the kidnapping of a Libyan citizen who is wanted by US authorities.”

“The Libyan government has contacted US authorities to ask them to provide an explanation,” he added.

The detention of Liby comes after a team of US Navy SEALs raided the seaside residence of a commander of the al-Shabab group in Somalia’s town of Baraawe. The SEALS, however, did not manage to arrest the commander.