A helicopter carrying three French soldiers crashed near Benghazi, Libya on July 17, killing the Frenchmen and their Libyan counterparts on board. A new jihadist front called the Benghazi Defense Brigades quickly claimed credit, saying its fighters downed the helo with a shoulder-fired missile. French President Hollande said it was an “accident.” Either way, jihadists and Islamists are now rattling their sabres at France.
The Pentagon said today that Ali Awni al Harzi, the first suspect publicly identified in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, was killed in a US airstrike in Mosul, Iraq. Al Harzi and his brother have been working for the Islamic State as facilitators.
Ansar al Sharia Libya now operates a radio station in Benghazi and several Twitter feeds. The group is at war with General Khalifa Haftar’s forces, but is promoting its governance efforts even while in the thick of battle. While a senior sharia official has defected to the Islamic State, there is no indication the group as a whole has followed suit.
Ansar al Sharia Libya released a set of propaganda photos in late January that are intended to demonstrate the group’s authority over areas in and around Benghazi. The photos purportedly show a police station and a convoy of security vehicles under the group’s control. However, forces loyal to General Haftar also claim to control much of the city.
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.
Mohamed al Zahawi’s family members have told the press that he has died due to wounds suffered in fighting last year. Zahawi has been the leader of Ansar al Sharia in Benghazi. Unconfirmed rumors of his death have circulated for months.
Abd al Baset Azzouz, an al Qaeda operative who served as Ayman al Zawahiri’s representative in Libya, was captured in Turkey in mid-November. Azzouz is reportedly being investigated for his possible ties to the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi.
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.
A new video posted by Ansar al Sharia Libya features Wissam Bin Hamid. American officials once considered Bin Hamid an ally in Benghazi, but he stood idly by as the US Mission and Annex were overrun on the night of Sept. 11, 2012.
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.
Wissam Bin Hamid met with US officials in Benghazi to discuss security two days before the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack. In recent days, he has been pictured leading Ansar al Sharia and allied forces as they overran a Libyan special forces base.
Ansar al Sharia and its allies have captured a key Libyan special forces base in the city of Benghazi. The base fell after days of heavy fighting and Ansar al Sharia is celebrating the spoils of its victory on its official Twitter page.
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.
Ahmed Abu Khattalah is the first suspect in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi to be held by the US. Most of his accomplices remain free.
Members of the Nasr City cell proudly display their loyalty to al Qaeda as they await trial in Egypt. The cell has multiple ties to al Qaeda. And one of its leaders, Muhammad Jamal al Kashef, trained some of the fighters who participated in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.
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.
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.
The UN added Muhammad Jamal al Kashef to its al Qaeda sanctions list on Oct. 18. The US government previously designated Jamal on Oct. 7. The UN noted Jamal’s ties to the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, whereas the US government’s announcement did not. Jamal’s network continues to plan attacks.
The State Department designated Muhammad Jamal and the Muhammad Jamal Network (MJN) as terrorists. Jamal established connections to al Qaeda’s senior leadership, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Ansar al Sharia Egypt posted a letter in June from Tariq Abu-al-Azm, a former major in the Egyptian air force who is accused of being part of the Nasr City cell. The cell has multiple ties to al Qaeda.
The Egyptian press has reported on two letters written by Muhammad Jamal to Ayman al Zawahiri. Jamal’s trainees reportedly took part in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. The letters do not deal with the Benghazi assault, but one of them was written less than one month beforehand.
This is the third time that Ansar al Sharia Tunisia has used social media to update Ali Ani al Harzi’s case. In December, the group prayed for his release and published photos of the FBI agents who interviewed him.
The Tunisian government has freed Ali Harzi, a key suspect in the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. The FBI questioned Harzi in December, and Ansar al Sharia Tunisia released photos of the investigating agents online.
Al-Bayariq Media Foundation, Ansar al Sharia Tunisia’s media outfit, has released photos purportedly showing three FBI agents who questioned Ali al Harzi, a suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. The three FBI agents reportedly questioned Harzi about the attack in Benghazi, as well as the Sept. 14 assault on the US Embassy in Tunis.
Die Welt, a German daily, has published an account that jibes with The Long War Journal’s reporting on the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi.
Egypt has arrested Muhammad Jamal al Kashef (a.k.a. Abu Ahmed), a terrorist with direct, longstanding ties to al Qaeda’s leadership. Some of the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya were trained in his camps. He is also part of the jihadist network that incited protesters in Cairo earlier that same day.
Muhammad Jamal al Kashef, who is suspected of playing a role in the terrorist attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11, has longstanding ties to a group of al Qaeda-linked jihadists who helped incite a protest in Cairo that same day.