A top al-Qaeda operative, captured by US special forces in a secretive mission in Libya this month, pleaded not guilty to a charge of his involvement in the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, in a New York court.
In daring raids, US commandos have captured a fugitive al-Qaeda leader from the streets of Libya and raided the seaside villa of an al-Shabaab militant in Somalia, signalling America's determination to pursue dreaded terrorists abroad.
The White House has ruled out sending Ahmed Abu Khatallah, a key suspect in the attacks at the United States consulate in Benghazi in September 2012, to the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention center and asserted that he would be tried through the federal court system.