Libyan fighter Abu Khattala, suspected in killing Americans, a shadowy figure among extremists ADVERTISING Libyan fighter Abu Khattala, suspected in killing Americans, a shadowy figure among extremists CAIRO — A strange silence has met the U.S. capture of a Libyan
Libyan fighter Abu Khattala, suspected in killing Americans, a shadowy figure among extremists
CAIRO — A strange silence has met the U.S. capture of a Libyan militant accused in the 2012 attack that killed the American ambassador and three others. In his hometown of Benghazi in eastern Libya, there have been few threats of revenge, only speculation among supporters and opponents that Ahmed Abu Khattala was betrayed by an insider.
Abu Khattala had said for months he had no fear of the Americans snatching him, living at his home and saying he worked as a construction contractor. Before U.S. commandos snatched him from Benghazi a week ago, he had been battling alongside the militant group Ansar al-Shariah against the troops of Khalifa Hifter, a renegade Libyan general who has waged an offensive aimed at crushing Islamic militants around Libya, Abu Khattala’s brother Abu Bakr told The Associated Press.
Abu Khattala was a prominent figure in the eastern city of Benghazi’s thriving circles of extremists, popular among young radicals for being among the most hard-core and uncompromising of those calling for Libya to be ruled by Islamic Shariah law. But he was always something of a lone figure.
“He was always an outsider,” Haroun, who opposes the Islamists and whose brother is a top intelligence official, told the AP. “He was a very simple man, who was honest in his talk and independent.”
That may have made it easier for the U.S. to track him down. Among Benghazi officials and militants, there were multiple theories floating over who could have given away his location to the Americans. Some pointed the finger at Hifter. Others said Islamist militias may have turned him, hoping to relieve the pressure on themselves in Hifter’s offensive. So far, a week after his capture, Ansar al-Shariah has not commented — perhaps a sign it was trying to determine who betrayed him.
Off-the-books adoptees from Georgia clinic give fresh DNA samples, hoping to find family links
About 30 people showed up at a Tennessee motel on Saturday to give cheek-swab DNA samples as people adopted through a nearby Georgia clinic hope to identify biological relatives before time for reconnecting runs out.
With no records of their birth parents, DNA testing may be the only way to confirm biological links for some of the 200-plus infants handed off to new parents in the 1950s and ’60s through the late Dr. Thomas Hicks’ clinic in McCaysville, near the Tennessee-North Carolina line.
Several adoptees gave fresh DNA samples Saturday at a motel in nearby Ducktown, Tennessee, while hoping potential relatives from the area might participate. Melinda Elkins Dawson, an organizer and one of the adoptees, estimated about 70 percent of those who participated could be potential relatives.
“I’m very happy with the turnout,” said Dawson, who lives near Canton, Ohio. “This solidified for me that people are ready to embrace the subject and help us in our journey.”
Fairfield, Ohio-based DNA Diagnostics Center will compare samples if there are indications of possible matches between the people who gave them. Testing could be done within weeks.
NYC mayor dresses as pirate as his family reigns over Coney Island’s zany Mermaid Parade
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio portrayed himself as a man of the people in last year’s election. On Saturday, he became a pirate among mermaids.
De Blasio showed up for Saturday’s zany Coney Island Mermaid Parade wearing a puffy pirate shirt and brandishing a fake sword. Organizers say he’s the first mayor to come in costume.
De Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, and their daughter, Chiara de Blasio, chose blue and gold mermaid dresses.
De Blasio’s son, Dante, was bare-chested and painted blue.
Dante and Chiara were chosen King Neptune and Queen Mermaid of the parade.
By wire sources
