Libyan media published the first video of the moment the Libyan army arrested former Egyptian army officer, and now one of Egypt’s most wanted terrorists, Hisham al-Ashmawy, on Monday.

The Egyptian government has called for the extradition of al-Ashmawy, after he was arrested by eastern Libyan forces.

Ashmawy is a former Egyptian special forces officer wanted by Cairo for suspected Islamist militant activities.

The video shows Libyan officers transferring Ashmawy after his arrest to an armored military vehicle in preparation for his transfer to a Libyan military site.

Brigadier Ahmad al-Mesmari, a military spokesman for the Libyan army, said that Ashmawy was hiding in a mountainous neighborhood in Derna, noting that he had been arrested while the army was liberating the neighborhood from the terrorists.

The Libyan National Army (LNA) had also published a picture of Ashmawy with blood on his face.



Egyptian authorities say Ashmawy heads the Ansar al-Islam network, which claimed responsibility for a deadly desert ambush against Egyptian police last October.

Egyptian authorities say Ashmawy heads the Ansar al-Islam network, which claimed responsibility for a deadly desert ambush.

Egyptian officials also accuse the network, which they link to al-Qaeda, of an assassination attempt on a former interior minister in 2013.



Ashmawy's network has mounted a recruiting campaign among former officers in recent years and is seen as more dangerous than militants operating in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, according to Egyptian intelligence and security sources.

(With Reuters)



Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:53 - GMT 06:53