U.S. air strike in Libya kills member of al Qaeda affiliate: military

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. forces working in coordination with the Libyan government carried out an air strike against an al Qaeda affiliate group southeast of Bani Walid this week, killing one fighter, U.S. military said in a statement on Thursday. U.S. forces are still assessing the results of the strike, which was undertaken in an effort to disrupt al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and deny the organization's fighters freedom of action, U.S. Africa Command said. It did not identify the slain fighter. It said no civilians were killed in the attack on Wednesday, which took place about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Bani Walid, which is about 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Tripoli. The attack was the second against al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in recent months. A U.S. strike on March 24 killed Musa Abu Dawud, a high-ranking member of the group, the military said. (Reporting by David Alexander, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)