FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2013, file photo, people gather at the scene where two deadly explosions struck near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Lebanese authorities said Friday, Jan. 3, 2014, that DNA tests have confirmed that a man in government custody, Majid al-Majid, is the alleged leader of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an al-Qaida-linked group that has claimed responsibility for the attack on the embassy. Al-Majid is one of the 85 most-wanted individuals in his native Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
January 04, 2014 - 2:09 AM
BEIRUT - A Lebanese army general says the leader of an al-Qaida-linked group that has conducted attacks across the Middle East before shifting its focus to Syria's civil war has died in custody in Lebanon.
The general says the detainee, Majid al-Majid, died on Saturday after suffering kidney failure. The general spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Al-Majid, a Saudi citizen was detained in Lebanon late last month and had been held at a secret location.
He was the purported commander of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades and one of the 85 most-wanted individuals in his native Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. State Department designated the group a foreign terrorist organization in 2012, freezing any assets it holds in the United States and banning Americans from doing business with the group.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014