Daesh 'spiritual' head killed in Libya’s Sirte: Sources

By Seif al-Trabulsi

TRIPOLI (AA) - Hassan al-Karami, a "spiritual leader" of the Daesh terrorist group, has been killed in Libya’s northern city of Sirte, sources close to forces loyal to Libya’s unity government said Tuesday.

Citing assertions by members of al-Karami’s family, the sources -- who spoke anonymously due to security concerns -- said al-Karami was killed in August in clashes with unity government forces.

According to the same sources, al-Karami’s family confirmed his death after fleeing Sirte’s Giza Bhriya district, Daesh’s last stronghold in the city, where government forces are now fighting Daesh.

Al-Karami, 28, was a co-founder of Libya’s Ansar al-Shariah group.

In 2014, he pledged allegiance to Daesh, joining the terrorist group in Sirte one year later.

He is accused by the U.S. of planning a 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed.

For the last several months, forces loyal to Libya’s UN-backed unity government have been trying to recapture Sirte from Daesh, which overran the city in 2015.

Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi.