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The leader of the Islamic State group in Libya was killed in a U.S. airstrike Friday. Above, aburnt car is seen at the site of an explosion outside the Algerian embassy in the Dahra district of the Libyan capital Tripoli Jan. 17, 2015. Mahmud Turkia/AFP/Getty Images

The Islamic State group leader in Libya died in a U.S. airstrike, NBC News reported Saturday. The suspect was hit by a missile from an F-15 aircraft, a defense official told the news network.

NBC identified the terrorist with the militant group formerly known as either ISIL or ISIS as Abu Nabil. He was killed Friday when the missile struck a group command center near Darnah in eastern Libya, the Daily Mail reported. The airstrike came shortly after Islamic State group terrorists conducted a series of attacks in Paris Friday night that left more than 120 dead.

There are three rival Islamic State group factions in Libya: Tarablus, Fezzan and Barqah. Nabil was head of the latter and the titular head of all three factions. The Daily Mail said it was believed he had been sent to Libya by Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to negotiate an alliance with local terrorist cells.

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