Jordan recognizes Libya interim council

Libyan Muslims perform their evening prayer Tuesday at Revolution Square in Benghazi.Amman will send a permanent envoy to the rebel-held city of BenghaziJordan's foreign minister gave the news in a call to council's executive committee chiefItaly, France and Qatar also recognize the interim council as Libyans' representative

(CNN) -- Jordan considers Libya's Interim National Council to be the legitimate representative of the Libyan people and will send a permanent envoy to the rebel-held city of Benghazi, Jordan's foreign minister said Tuesday, according to the state-run news agency Petra.

Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh imparted the news in a telephone conversation with the head of the interim council's executive committee and its foreign policy point man, Mahmoud Jibril, Petra said.

"The minister hailed the council's actions and 'responsible' positions, which he said reflected the Libyan people's demands, ambitions and hopes for a new era of freedom, independence and unity, adding that the council's positions and statements are consolidating its standing internally and in the world," Petra said.

Judeh said the permanent envoy in Benghazi would work to "better coordinate with the council" and ensure the continued safe flow of Jordanian aid and medical supplies to Libyans.

Jordan joins only a few countries, including France, Italy and Qatar, that have recognized Libya's interim council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.

CNN's Caroline Faraj contributed to this story.

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Al Qaeda names Adel as interim chief: report (Reuters)

DUBAI, May 18 (Reuters) – Al Jazeera television said al Qaeda has appointed a temporary leader and a new head of operations following the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. commandos, citing its own correspondent on Wednesday.

It said in a brief news flash the Egyptian militant Saif al-Adel was named interim leader, while Mustafa al-Yemeni, whose nationality it did not give, would direct operations.

U.S. special forces shot dead Al Qaeda leader bin Laden in his hideout outside the capital of Pakistan earlier this month.

U.S. prosecutors say Adel is one of al Qaeda's leading military commanders and helped plan the bomb attacks against the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998.

They also say he set up al Qaeda training camps in Sudan and Afghanistan in the 1990s.

An al Qaeda expert had said on Tuesday that Adel would likely not act as head of the organization.

"This role that he has assumed is not as overall leader, but he is in charge in operational and military terms," said Noman Benotman, a former bin Laden associate who is now an analyst with Britain's Quilliam Foundation think tank.

Adel was believed to have fled to Iran after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, and was subsequently held under a form of house arrest there, according to some media reports.

Arab media reports said Iranian authorities released him from custody about a year ago, and he then moved back to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. Some analysts say Adel may have returned to Iran or Afghanistan in recent weeks.

(Reporting by Sara Anabtawi and Erika Solomon; editing by Cynthia Johnston and Mark Heinrich)

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