US and Libyan forces have captured Saifallah Benahssine, the leader of Tunisia's Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia, in the Libyan city of Misrata, Tunisia's state news agency TAP said, citing a security source.

A former fighter in Afghanistan, Benahssine, also known as Abu Iyadh, had declared loyalty to al Qaeda and was accused of inciting an attack on the U.S. embassy in Tunisia a year ago.

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