TRIPOLI, Libya — A Libyan affiliate of the
extremist Islamic State group claimed responsibility Wednesday for an attack on
a Tripoli luxury hotel that killed 10 people, including an American and four
Europeans.
The group called "Islamic State in
Tripoli Province" said it launched the attack Tuesday to avenge the death of Abu
Anas al-Libi, who was indicted in U.S. federal court over his alleged role in
the 1998 al-Qaida bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Al-Libi was
snatched off a street in Tripoli by U.S. special forces in 2013 and died in
U.S. custody in January due to complications from liver surgery.
The group identified the attackers as Abu
Ibrahim al-Tunsi and Abu Suleiman al-Sudani, noms de guerre that suggest the
attackers were Tunisian and Sudanese. The claim of responsibility was posted Wednesday on jihadi forums.
The affiliate previously claimed
responsibility for a recent attack on the Algerian Embassy that wounded three
guards. It also previously posted pictures before for its men touring markets
and distributing pamphlets. The posting Wednesday matched previous messages
released by the group.
The attack targeted the seaside
Corinthia Hotel and also killed five guards. Two attackers were killed
following an hourslong standoff that included a car bombing. U.S. State Department official also confirmed that a U.S. citizen was killed.
The online message said that those killed
were American, French, South Korean and Filipino. Spokesman for a Tripoli security agency, said the dead included an American, a
French citizen and three others Asian.
Libya has been in violence by long time between
rival militias and governments since its 2011 civil war dictator Moammar
Gadhafi was catched, beaten on street and then killed. A group of Islamist militias now control Tripoli.
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