Jihadists have posted a photo on Twitter that allegedly shows Mohamed al Zahawi, the leader of Ansar al Sharia in Benghazi, after his death. Earlier, Zahawi’s family had told the press that he passed away from wounds he received during fighting last year.
The United Nations has added the Ansar al Sharia chapters in Benghazi and Derna to its al Qaeda sanctions list, explicitly recognizing their ties to each other, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and other al Qaeda-linked groups.
The Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council, an umbrella group that includes the al Qaeda-affiliated Ansar al Sharia, has launched a coordinated attack on forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar.
In a court filing earlier this week, the US government argued that the only suspect in custody for the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya should remain in pretrial detention. Prosecutors cited his “extensive contacts” with senior members of other jihadist organizations and plans for additional attacks as reasons to keep him behind bars as he awaits trial.
A newly released report by the Senate Intelligence Committee notes that terrorists “affiliated” with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Muhammad Jamal Network, and Ansar al Sharia took part in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.
The State Department has designated three Ansar al Sharia organizations. Two of them were involved in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya and the third was involved in the Sept. 14, 2012 assault on the US Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia. The State Department says Ansar al Sharia Tunisia is “tied” to al Qaeda’s affiliates, including al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
More than one year after the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, a former Guantanamo detainee remains a key suspect.
Left out of the Times‘ account of the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi are the many leads tying the attackers to al Qaeda’s international network.
