BALI, Indonesia: US secretary of state John Kerry is defending the capture by American forces of a terrorism suspect in Libya. He says complaints from the Libyan government that the operation was a kidnapping are unfounded.

Speaking on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific economic conference in Indonesia on Monday, Kerry said the weekend seizure in Tripoli of the suspected al-Qaida operative complied with US law. He said the suspect was a "legal and appropriate target" for the US military and will face justice in a court of law. Kerry added it was important not to "sympathize" with wanted terrorists.

The suspect is accused of involvement in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, which killed more than 220 people.