British officials say they are still investigating a possible “wider conspiracy” behind the Manchester Arena bombing on May 22. Meanwhile, British interior minister Amber Rudd told BBC News that security services are “looking at 500 different plots” with 3,000 possible terrorists on the “top list” and 20,000 “underneath that.”
International authorities are investigating the possibility that a “network” assisted Salman Abedi in the Manchester Arena bombing earlier this week. The investigation stretches from the UK to Libya, where Abedi’s younger brother and father have been detained. His brother, Hashim, has allegedly admitted prior knowledge of the plot and that the siblings were Islamic State members.
The US government announced the transfer of two Libyans from Guantanamo to the Republic of Senegal. Both of the men were allegedly members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and worked for al Qaeda prior to their detention. JTF-GTMO found both to be “high” risks. President Obama’s Guantanamo Review Task Force previously deemed one of them “too dangerous” to transfer.
The Islamic State’s newest edition of Dabiq magazine features an interview with Abul Mughirah al Qahtani, who is identified for the first time as the head of the “caliphate’s” Libyan “province.” Qahtani complains bitterly about the Islamic State’s jihadist and Islamist rivals. He notes, for example, that Ansar al Sharia has failed to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and says the group is close to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
The Islamic State’s supporters in Libya have released dozens of “wanted dead” posters online. The images are part of a campaign targeting the “caliphate’s” jihadist and Islamist opposition in Derna and elsewhere in Libya. If the information in the graphics is accurate, then the Islamic State is offering up valuable intelligence on its pro-al Qaeda adversaries in North Africa.
The Islamic State’s fighters in Libya say they have taken control of a power plant outside of the city of Sirte. The group has repeatedly targeted locations in Sirte since the beginning of the year, taking over significant parts of the city in the process.
Al Qaeda’s general manager, Atiyah Abd al Rahman, believed there was “good” in the 2011 Arab uprisings. And he discussed with Osama bin Laden how to send al Qaeda operatives around the globe to take advantage of the situation. The Libyan “brothers” were especially anxious to wage jihad in their home country.
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As Benghazi falls, so goes Libya
Adam Gadahn, an al Qaeda propagandist and spokesman, has released a video denouncing the capture of top al Qaeda operative Abu Anas al Libi. While calling for vengeance, Gadahn tries to portray al Libi as an innocent who was wrongly detained.
The Inevitable Rise Of Al-Qaeda in Libya
A senior al Qaeda operative, Abu Anas al Libi, was captured in Tripoli, Libya. Al Libi has served al Qaeda since the 1990s. According to a report published by the Library of Congress in August 2012, he was the “builder of al Qaeda’s network in Libya.”
A Libyan named Faraj al Chalabi has been detained in connection with the Sept. 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi. It is “unclear” what role he is suspected of playing, but he fled to Pakistan afterwards. Muammar Qaddafi’s regime previously said he worked for al Qaeda.
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Matthew Olsen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said that a “number of different elements,” including some linked to al Qaeda, were involved.
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Libyan official: US drones seeking jihadists in Libya
Libya’s Belhadj quits military post for politics
Libyan Islamist quits militia to enter politics: aide
Libyan Islamist leader detained as tensions grow between rival factions
Islamist commander sees Libyan fighters keeping weapons
The black flag of Al Qaeda is sighted over a Benghazi courthouse.
Libya struggles to create army out of militias