Libya said today it has asked the United States for “clarifications” regarding the abduction in Tripoli of an al Qaida leader linked to the 1998 US Embassy bombings in East Africa, adding that Libyan nationals should be tried in their own country.

A missile from a US Predator drone struck a suspected terrorist safehouse in Pakistan and killed a top al-Qaida commander believed responsible for a bomb attack during a visit last year by Vice President Dick Cheney to Afghanistan, a US official said yesterday.