BENGHAZI: The self-styled Libyan National Army says its troops have captured a prominent militant wanted in neighboring Egypt.
In a statement posted on its Facebook page on Monday, the army said Hesham Eshmawi was captured in an “operation” in the eastern town of Derna.
A Twitter account run by spokesman Ahmed al-Mosmari published a mugshot of Eshmawi with a bloodied face. The image matches photos of Eshmawi widely used in the Egyptian media. Eshmawi, a former Egyptian army officer, has long been suspected of having fled to Libya from where he masterminded attacks in Egypt.
He is believed to have been behind a 2013 assassination attempt against then-Egyptian Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim and several deadly ambushes of security forces in the country’s Western Desert near the Libyan border.