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Marine Corps Veteran David Berry Killed in Libya Hotel Terror Attack

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran was among 10 people killed when gunmen apparently linked to ISIS attacked a hotel used by Westerners in Libya.
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A U.S. Marine Corps veteran was among 10 people killed when gunmen apparently linked to ISIS attacked a hotel used by Westerners in Libya, according to his employer.

David Berry, a 12-year combat veteran working for Virginia-based security and logistics contractor Team Crucible, was among five foreigners who died in Tuesday’s attack at the Corinthia Hotel.

“Our company mourns this extraordinary loss with his family and friends,” the firm’s boss Cliff Taylor said in a statement.

Berry had “extensive experience in the special operations and intelligence communities” and worked often in “hostile and austere locations throughout the world,” according to his LinkedIn profile.

Image: LinkedIn profile picture of David Berry
Profile picture from David Berry's LinkedIn account.via LinkedIn

A French citizen, three others from the former Soviet Union and five local guards at the waterfront hotel also died in the gun and bomb attack.

The two suspects were killed inside the building following a standoff.

An ISIS media office in Libya claimed responsibility, identifying a Sudanese and a Tunisian who it said carried out the attack, according to global security firm and NBC News counterterrorism consultant Flashpoint Intelligence.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said U.S. officials were investigating the attack, and Berry's death.

"Violence will not resolve Libya's problems and this attack cannot be allowed to impede the critical work that is underway to find a political solution," she said.

The killings were in revenge for the recent death of former al Qaeda operative Abu Anas Al-Liby, who was captured by U.S. Special Forces in Tripoli and was in New York awaiting trial, ISIS media office said.

Tuesday’s attack underlined the worsening security situation in Libya, which has been in chaos since a 2011 uprising that ousted longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The country has been awash in armed militias, including several Islamic extremist groups. A group of Islamist militias control Tripoli, and the internationally recognized government convenes in the far east of the country. A rival prime minister from a shadow government, Omar al-Hasi, was living at the Corinthia Hotel.