Tripoli, Oct 7 (IANS): US Secretary of State John Kerry Monday said Libyan authorities were not informed of the counter-terrorism operation carried out by US troops in Libya to capture Al Qaeda leader Anas al Libi.

Libi was a key suspect behind the bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, Xinhua reported.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of 2013 APEC meeting in Indonesia, Kerry said: "The Libyan authorities have not been reported previously in this operation."

"The US is doing everything possible and everything appropriate and legal to eliminate the terrorist threat," Kerry said.

He added that Anas al Libi was a "legal target" and he would face justice in a court of law.

The Pentagon's chief spokesman George Little said Saturday that al Libi "was currently lawfully detained by the US military in a secure location outside of Libya".

Prime minister of the Libyan interim government Ali Zeidan Sunday demanded clarifications from US officials on the military operation carried out in Tripoli.

Zeidan said Libyan nationals should be tried in their own country.