An alleged Islamic extremist charged with being involved in the destruction of religious buildings in Timbuktu has been arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court to face justice.

Ahmad Al Mahdi Al Faqi, known as Abu Tourab, is the first suspect in the Netherlands court’s custody charged with the war crime of destroying religious or historical monuments.

He is charged in connection with the destruction of 10 historic buildings including mausoleums and a mosque in Mali’s historic city in 2012.

Al Faqi was surrendered to the court by Niger based on an arrest warrant issued a week ago and transferred to The Hague. No date was immediately set for his arraignment.

He was a member of Ansar Dine, an Islamic extremist group with links to al-Qaeda that ruled across northern Mali in 2012, the court said in a statement.

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