A profile 25 result, alqaeda operatives in libya have remained silent and unreported, letting their potential salafist allies utilize the new postrevolutionary freedom of speech to promote the radical islamist vision of alqaeda. This clarion intel exclusive report documents an islamist movement in america composed of terrorist, paramilitary and criminal components. The paper will first give a brief outline of alqaidas connections to libya, then. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is the end of al qaeda in any meaningful sense of the word. The islamic state of iraq and alsham smallcalibre ammunition in libya. On 26 june 2015, a terrorist gunman attacked the popular beach resort of sousse in tunisia. Libya, first adopted by the italian colonial powers in 1934 as the unifying name for. Osama bin laden 1987 may 2011 osama bin laden was the most historically notable emir, or commander, and senior operations chief of alqaeda prior to his assassination on may 1, 2011, by u.
Ansar alshariah in libya asl was an islamist group that formed when two smaller militant groups, ansar alshariah in benghazi asb and ansar alshariah in derna asd, each only a couple months old themselves, merged in the aftermath of the february 2011 libyan uprising against muammar elqaddafi. She studies the salafijihadi movement in africa, including al qaeda, isis, and associated groups. Ansar alsharia groups in both tunisia and libya were labeled localized jihadist groups that shared alqaedas ideology, but operated independent of alqaedas command structure. Libyan civil war 2014present simple english wikipedia. The emirati military says it is winning the battle against alqaeda in yemen but some question their methods. Alqaeda defector alfadl, who was a former member of qatar charity, testified in court that abdullah mohammed yusef, who served as qatar charitys director, was affiliated to alqaeda and simultaneously to the national islamic front, a political group that gave alqaeda leader osama bin laden harbor in sudan in the early 1990s. The group aimed to establish shariah law in tunisia and promoted the idea of global jihad. This report attempts to assess al qaeda s presence in libya. The relationship between alqaeda and al qaeda in the islamic maghreb is unclear, and their relationship with other libyan islamist groups is unclear. Inside the uaes war on alqaeda in yemen the independent. Martyrs bloc, led by abdel wahab qayed, the brother of alqaeda secondincommand abu yahya allibi. To that end, it is currently engaged in an antigovernment campaign. Us ambassador killed in benghazi, libya main article.
An update ng 2014, and in part on sums that volunteers bring with them often derived from the muslim custom of zakatis rumoured to allow it to pay its fighters a salary. Abu yahya allibi born mohamed hassan qaid, was a terrorist and leading highranking official within alqaeda, and an alleged member of the libyan islamic fighting group. Allibi was one of several highprofile bagram captives who escaped on the night of july 10. Pdf al qaedas organizational structure and its evolution. The report details al qaedas plans for libya, including the growth of a clandestine terrorist network that has attempted to hide its presence. Qaeda operative, nazih abdulhamed alruqai aka abu anas allibi. Islamic state of iraq and al sham isis narrative start. Ansar al sharia benghazi strength on display, youtub slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. The us accused him of receiving training from alqaeda and of being an alqaeda member. Most of the world thinks it is a takfiri and terrorist organization members of alqaeda have performed many acts of terrorism. Terrorism profile almourabitoun the mackenzie institute. Belhaj says the fact that he fought alongside al qaeda doesnt mean he agrees with the aims of the organization. Emily estelle is the research manager for the critical threats project at the american enterprise institute. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about libyas geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages.
The decline of the islamic state is terrorist group in the middle east and the dilapidation of its pakistan chapter walayatekhurasan have provided alqaeda central aqc enough space to reass. Militants find sanctuary in libyas wild south arab news. Al qaeda is not an organization that commands massive resources. The group would later also absorb the macina liberation front mlf, an ansar aldin affiliate in central mali, reinforcing jnims local credentials and. The document apparently does not advance cia goals. The us military has concluded that al qaeda is in the final phase of a threestep process for developing a. But the truth is this is a huge, devastating blow to al qaeda, which had already been crippled by the arab spring. The west point study, as noted, was conducted on the basis of almost 700 al qaeda personnel files captured by coalition forces in iraq. The al qaeda network today also comprises semiautonomous or self radicalized actors, who often have only peripheral or ephemeral ties to either the core cadre in pakistan or affiliated groups elsewhere. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Pdf file libyas postconflict transition is underway, as libyans work to consolidate change from the 40year authoritarian dictatorship of muammar al qadhafi to a planned representative government based on democratic and islamic principles.
This bloc is considered more extreme than its political ally, the justice and. Ast was not formally affiliated with the ansar alshariah organizations operating in libya, yemen and egypt. Library of congress federal research division alqaeda in libya. Active since march 2017 as face of alqaeda in the maghreb aqim in libya, made up of. If thats not enough, click over to our collection of world maps and flags. Since the fall of the taliban, alqaeda has established operations worldwide, including in syria, the gulf, north africa, west africa, east africa, and the indian subcontinent. The yemenbased alqaeda in the arabian peninsula, also known as aqap, has been weakened by the deaths of its leaders at the hands of us drones, ground attacks by yemeni troops and. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. Mapping libyas jihadists hate speech international. It is noted to have close ties to al qaida and al qaida in the islamic maghreb.
Pdf the inner organizational structure of al qaeda within the expanded. Abu yahya allibi us extraterritorial detainees wiki. Alqaeda suffers heavy losses in yemen conflicts arab news. Al qaeda in the islamic maghreb are also active in fezzan, especially in border areas. These groups use territory in libya to train and prepare for terrorist attacks in neighboring tunisia and egypt and to support the establishment of. Ansar alsharia benghazi strength on display, youtub slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising.
In 2011, belmokhtar visited an alqaeda training camp in libya where he recruited the former almourabitoun emir abu bakr alnasri. After nearly a decade and a half of combating al qaeda aq in. Never before have so many foreign fighters been involved in a conflict as are currently involved in the syrian civil war. A quick guide to libyas main players european council. Infoplease has everything you need to know about libya. However this is not the first time that almoutabitoun has tried to expand into libya. Allibi is a citizen of libya, who was held in extrajudicial detention in the bagram interim detention facility. Military situation in libya on 8 january 2020 under the control of the house of representatives and the libyan national army under the control of the government of national accord gna and different militias forming the libya shield force controlled by local forces for a more detailed 2019 map, see military situation in. Head of the libyan national army lna or, in the more precise arabic translation, the. Al qaeda senior leadership aqsl and al qaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim have sought to take advantage of the libyan revolution to recruit militants and to reinforce their operational capabilities in an attempt to create a safe haven and possibly to. Johnsen, a profile of aqaps upper echelon, combating terrorism center. Some are wholly indigenous and rooted in particular locales while others particularly isis affiliates include many foreigners at both leadership and rank and file level. The aftermath after qaddafis fall, about 200000 militiamen took to the streets.
However, ast and ansar alshariah in libya asl reportedly shared operational, financial, and logistical links. A profile, federal research division, library of congress, august 2012. Another formal merger took place between al qaeda and the libyan islamic fighting. Former jihadist at the heart of libya s revolution. She is also a senior al qaeda analyst and the africa team lead. Is fighters in the area keep a low profile, spending most of their time in valleys and mountains outside the city. The loss of many of alqaedas strategic planners and operatives in the international arena, such as abu qatada alfilastini, who is currently incarcerated in a british prison. Jamaat nasr alislam wal muslimin jnim group profile. Libyas security vacuum is the single largest enabler of salafijihadi activity. Dine, almourabitoun, and the sahara branch of alqaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim all of them alqaeda aq affiliates. The same terrorists who killed us, nato troops in iraq 2007 west point study shows benghazidarnahtobruk area was a. Executive summary an islamist movement in america is a candidate for sheriff in new york state a stooge for muslims of america, a jihadi cult also known as jamaat ulfuqra.
By far the majority are fighting as part of islamic state is, the alqaeda aqaffiliated jabhat alnusra and the syrian rebel movement, ahrar alsham. Hady amr is a thought leader on a range of socioeconomic and geopolitical issues facing the middle east with a focus on the levant, israelipalestinian relations and the gulf, as well as arab human. Militants participated in the 2011 libyan civil war as the libyan islamic movement al harakat al islamiya al libiya, and are involved in the libyan civil war as members of the libya shield force. Yemen, individuals who are part of al qaeda in libya and somalia, the. Libya is a safehaven for the islamic state of iraq and al sham isis, al qaeda, and other salafijihadi groups. Fuqra files the authoritative database on jamaat ul. Alqaedas 911 attacks was the deadliest ever on american soil, killing nearly 3,000 people. Al qaeda leaders are no longer necessarily connected by formal networks and many operate outside of. How us tries to link iran to al qaeda consortiumnews. The islamic state of iraq and al sham isis was originally created in 2004 under the name alqaida in iraq aqi through a partnership between salafisunni leader abu musab alzarqawi and alqaida core leadership. Libya western and central libya shield force fought alongside libya dawn and were disbanded with it in 2015. Degrading al qaeda leadership is central to american counterterrorism strategy, but the leaders today are not the same as they were in 2001. Alleged militants include alleged al qaeda organizer abd al muhsin al libi who now holds a key command position in the libya shield force. It later released the names and pictures of at least two fighters it claimed had been killed during the attack, one tunisian and one sudanese.
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