Mokhtar Belmokhtar, militant leader, not confirmed dead by Libya militants
Ansar al Sharia lists 7 others who died in American airstrike
A Libyan militant group appeared to deny reports that a U.S. strike had killed veteran Algerian Islamist Mokhtar Belmokhtar, in a statement published on Twitter.
Libya's government said on Sunday that Mokhtar, blamed for a deadly assault on an Algerian gas field and a major figure in insurgencies across North Africa, had died alongside other militant leaders.
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But a statement on the Twitter account of the Ansar al Sharia militant group had a list of seven people it said had died in the attack that did not include a name resembling Belmokhtar's.
"While we eulogize these heroes ... we deny the killing of any other personalities besides those whom we have named who are sons of this land [Libya]," the statement added.
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Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the statement.
U.S. officials have not confirmed the reports that Belmokhtar was killed in eastern Libya, saying on Monday that the F-15 jet raid appeared to have succeeded but stopping short of commenting on his demise.