Libya's recognized government said on Sunday veteran Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar had been killed in a U.S. air strike inside Libya as part of counter-terrorism cooperation.

Earlier, the U.S. Department of Defense said the U.S. military conducted a counterterrorism strike against an Al Qaida-associated target in Libya on Saturday night, but were assessing results before providing more details.

"The Libyan government in the east of Libya confirms that the U.S fighter jets conducted air strikes last night in a mission which resulted in the death of the terrorist Belmokhtar," Libya's recognised government said.