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Al-Qaida leader not listed among dead from US Libya strike

This wanted poster from the website of the U.S. State Department's Rewards For Justice program shows a mugshot of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, charged with leading the attack on a gas plant in Algeria in 2013 that killed at least 35 hostages, including three Americans. The U.S military said on Monday, June 15, 2015 it likely killed the al-Qaida-linked militant leader when it launched airstrikes in eastern Libya over the weekend. (U.S. State Department Rewards For Justice via AP) This wanted poster from the website of the U.S. State Department's Rewards For Justice program shows a mugshot of Mokhtar Belmokhtar, charged with leading the attack on a gas plant in Algeria in 2013 that killed at least 35 hostages, including three Americans. The U.S military said on Monday, June 15, 2015 it likely killed the al-Qaida-linked militant leader when it launched airstrikes in eastern Libya over the weekend. (U.S. State Department Rewards For Justice via AP)

By Associated Press June 16, 2015 1 min read

CAIRO (AP) – Libyan militants have released a list of names of those they say were killed in a U.S. airstrike over the weekend that does not include the raid’s main target, al-Qaida-linked commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

The al-Qaida-linked Ansar al-Shariah on Tuesday released a list of seven names of fighters and residents it said were killed in the “crusader American strike” in the eastern town of Ajdabiya.

A second statement from an umbrella group for militias called the Shura Council of Ajdabiya and its Surroundings also did not include Belmokhtar among the dead.

Neither group directly denied Belmokhtar was killed.

U.S. officials initially said they believed they hit their target, but later said assessments were still underway. A Libyan official said tests were needed to identify the dead, who numbered at least 17.