Al-Qaeda suspect dies days before US trial

NEW YORK: A Libyan accused over the 1998 Al-Qaeda bombings of US embassies in Africa died on Friday, days before he was to stand trial in New York.

Abu Anas al-Libi, 50, was on the FBI´s most-wanted list with a $5 million price on his head when he was captured by US troops in the Libyan capital Tripoli in October 2013.

He and Saudi businessman Khalid al-Fawwaz were due to stand trial on January 12 over the attacks on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and wounded around 5,000.

Libi, a computer expert, died after a New York hospital on Friday, the federal prosecutor for the region said in a letter to the judge trying the case.

"On December 31, 2014, Abu Anas al-Libi was taken from the Metropolitan Correctional Center to a New York hospital due to sudden complications arising out of his long-standing medical problems," said Preet Bharara in the letter Saturday.

"We write now to inform the Court that despite the care provided at the hospital, his condition deteriorated rapidly, and Libi passed away yesterday evening."

Libi´s lawyer Bernard Kleinman had told The Washington Post the health of his client -- who had advanced hepatitis C and liver cancer -- had deteriorated significantly in the last month.

Libi and Fawwaz both previously pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges.
A third suspect, Egyptian Adel Abdel Bary, last year pleaded guilty to playing a role in the 1998 attacks.
Libi´s son Abdel Mouin told CNN by telephone from Tripoli early Saturday that his father had been in a coma before his death and that the family holds the US government "fully responsible" for his demise.

Libi was detained by US commandos on October 5, 2013, and interrogated on board a US warship before being handed over to FBI agents on October 12 and flown to New York.