The U.S. military said Wednesday a high-ranking leader of the al-Qaida militant group was killed Saturday in a joint U.S.-Libyan airstrike in the southwestern Libyan town of Ubari.

Musa Abu Dawud, who trained members of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Libya, was among two al-Qaida militants killed in the attack, according to the U.S. Africa Command.

In addition to training recruits, the command said Dawud provided AQIM with weapons and logistical and financial support.

The command said Dawud’s support of AQIM enabled the group to “threaten and attack U.S. and Western interests in the region.”

In May 2016, the U.S. named Dawud as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, a designation the U.S. said is reserved for those who have committed, or at risk of committing, terrorist acts against the U.S.
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