Libyan Leaders Say US Raid Won't Hurt Relations

But want family to be able to contact detainee

Relations between Tripoli and Washington will not be hurt by the U.S. raid that seized an al Qaeda suspect from the Libyan capital, Libyan leaders said Tuesday, as they requested Washington allow the family of the detainee—now being held on a U.S. warship—to establish contact with him.

The comments reflected the predicament of Libya's weak central government after U.S. special force snatched Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, known by his alias Anas al-Libi, on Saturday. The leadership is wary of criticizing its needed ally, the United States, but it also is trying to counter anger among powerful Islamic extremists at home who accuse the government of allowing or even colluding in the abduction of a Libyan citizen.