Al Qaeda: Libya Ex-Chief Not Dead

Al Qaeda’s branch in North Africa said Thursday that Libyan jihadi Mokhtar Belmokhtar had not died in a U.S. airstrike as earlier reports claimed. Referring to Belmokhtar as Khaled Abou Abbas, a statement from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said, “the jihadist commander Khaled Abou Abbas is still alive and kicking and wandering the land of God.” Belmokhtar is accused of leading an attack on an Algerian gas plant in 2013 that left 38 hostages dead. The U.S. charged the al Qaeda operative last year in connection with the Algeria attack, which killed three Americans. Belmokhtar’s death has been reported several times before, including a 2013 incident in which he was believed to have died in Mali.