WASHINGTON
A U.S. airstrike in Iraq killed a sought-after Daesh operative, wanted in relation to the 2012 attack on the American embassy in Libya, the Pentagon confirmed Monday.
"Ali Awni al-Harzi, a known ISIL [Daesh] operative and organizational intermediary who was a person of interest in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack against U.S. personnel in Benghazi, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Mosul, Iraq on June 15," Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said in a statement.
He added that al-Harzi worked closely with several Daesh-linked groups throughout North Africa and the Middle East.
Daesh recently gained allegiance from several radical groups in Libya and has conducted a series of bomb attacks as well as kidnappings during the last several months.
"His death degrades ISIL's ability to integrate North African jihadists into the Syrian and Iraqi fight and removes a jihadist with long ties to international terrorism," Warren said.
