Ansar Al-Sharia (Derna, Libya) | |
---|---|
Leaders | Abu Sufian bin Qumu (POW) |
Dates of operation | 2011–2018 |
Active regions | Eastern Libya (Cirenaica) |
Part of | Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna [1] |
Allies | Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade Jaysh al-Islami al-Libi [1] |
Opponents | Islamic State |
Battles and wars | Second Libyan Civil War |
Ansar al-Sharia is the Derna based branch of a larger Libyan group; the branch is headed by Abu Sufian bin Qumu. [2] In 2011 bin Qumu became the leader of a band of fighters in his hometown of Derna during the 2011 Libyan civil war. [3] The group was reported as disbanding itself following the U.S. Consulate attack in Benghazi [4] however by late 2013 the group had re-emerged in the city as a branch of the Benghazi-based Ansar al-Sharia under the slogan "A step toward building the Islamic state". [5]
In December 2014, Ansar al-Sharia joined the Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade and Jaysh al-Islami al-Libi in an umbrella organisation called the Majlis Shura al-Mujahidin Derna (Derna Mujahidin Consultative Council). The group has been involved in fighting with the forces of General Khalifa Haftar in the Second Libyan Civil War. [1]
Ansar al-Sharia and the Majlis Shura al-Mujahidin Derna have opposed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant presence in Derna. [1]
The Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) (Arabic: مجلس شورى المجاهدين في العراق), was an umbrella organization of at least six Sunni Islamic insurgent groups taking part in the Iraqi insurgency against U.S. and coalition and Iraqi forces: Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn ('al-Qaeda in Iraq'), Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah, Katbiyan Ansar Al-Tawhid wal Sunnah, Saraya al-Jihad Group, al-Ghuraba Brigades, and al-Ahwal Brigades.
Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda Bin Qumu is a citizen of Libya who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts report he was born on 26 June 1959, in Derna, Libya.
Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia is a radical Islamist group that operates in Tunisia. In 2013, the group was estimated to have roughly 10,000 members. It has been listed as a terrorist group by the Tunisian government as well by Iraq, the United Nations, the UAE, the United Kingdom and the United States. Some of its members may be linked to the 2015 Sousse attacks. In 2013, the group declared loyalty to Al-Qaeda.
Since the late 1990s, several members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group had decided to leave the band, most of them joining other armed organizations.
Ansar al-Sharia in Libya was a Salafist Islamist militia and Al-Qaeda-aligned group that advocated the implementation of Sharia law across Libya. Ansar al-Sharia came into being in 2011, during the Libyan Civil War. Until January 2015, it was led by its "Amir", Muhammad al-Zahawi. As part of its strategy, the organization targeted specific Libyan and American civilians for death and took part in the 2012 Benghazi attack. The group was designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Libya Shield Force is an armed organisation formed in 2012 out of anti-Gaddafi armed groups spread throughout Libya. The Libyan parliament designated much of the Libya Shield Force as terrorist and elements of the Libya Shield Force were identified as linked to al-Qaeda as early as 2012.
The Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries is a military coalition in Benghazi composed of Islamist and jihadist militias, including Ansar al-Sharia, Libya Shield 1, and several other groups.
The following lists events that happened in 2014 in Libya.
In October 2014, the self-declared Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of numerous government buildings, security vehicles and local landmarks in the Eastern Libyan coastal city of Derna. Although some media outlets reported the control as being absolute, rival groups like the al-Qaeda-affiliated Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade continued to control parts of the city. Clashes erupted between ISIL and an alliance of Islamist groups in June 2015, with ISIL retreating from Derna to outlying suburbs the following month. However, clashes continued between the Islamist alliance and the Tobruk-based government forces.
The Islamic State – Libya Province is a militant Islamist group active in Libya under three branches: Fezzan Province in the desert south, Cyrenaica Province in the east, and Tripolitania Province in the west. The branches were formed on 13 November 2014, following pledges of allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi by militants in Libya.
The Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna was a coalition of Islamist militias that advocated the implementation of Sharia law within Derna, Libya. Besides seeking to implement strict social mores in Derna, the alliance was known for its open opposition to Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The Battle of Benghazi was a battle of the Second Libyan Civil War. It was fought in May and July 2014 between the Islamic Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries and the Libyan National Army, and some residents which stood with the army in the city. The Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries led by Ansar al-Sharia (Libya) has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Battle of Benina Airport was a battle of the Second Libyan Civil War which lasted from August 2014 until October 2014 between the Islamic Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries supported by extremist fundamental groups such as Ansar al-Sharia, who attempted to capture the airport, and the Libyan National Army led by General Khalifa Haftar.
This is a detailed timeline of the Libyan civil war (2014–2020) which lasted from 2014 to 2020.
Al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, or AQSP, is an Egyptian militant jihadist organization possibly formed by a merger between al-Qaeda operatives in Sinai and Ansar al Jihad. It was Al-Qaeda's branch in the Sinai peninsula, and is composed of many Al-Qaeda factions in the area. AQSP made international headlines in November 2014 when the organization pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) in a nine-minute audio speech released on Twitter.
The Battle of Benghazi (2014–2017) was a major battle of the Second Libyan Civil War that raged from October 2014 to December 2017, between the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Libya, and the Libyan National Army (LNA), and paramilitaries supporting the Libyan National Army in the city. The battle was a direct consequence of the failed Benina Airport Offensive by the Benghazi Revolutionaries and their Allies, which allowed LNA Forces to regroup and attack deep into Benghazi.
The Battle of Derna was a military campaign by the Libyan National Army to recapture the city of Derna from the Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna, which lasted from 7 May 2018 until 12 February 2019. The majority of military operations concluded by 28 June 2018, with the Libyan National Army declaring control of the entire city on that day, despite continued clashes in the old city. During the early stages of the battle, the Shura Council was dissolved and replaced with the Derna Protection Force, which continued operations after the LNA declared victory in June 2018, before surrendering themselves at the end of the battle.
Katiba al-Bittar al-Libi is an armed Islamist group operating in Iraq, Syria and Libya. The group is composed largely of Libyan fighters who entered Syria in the wake of the Arab Spring and early post-civil uprising stage of the Syrian Civil War. Though the group is composed largely of Libyans, the group also has large amounts of Tunisians and Francophone Maghrebis from Europe, reportedly the perpetrators of the November 2015 Paris attacks and Manchester Arena bombing, including Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was suspected to be a leader of the group, were members of the group or affiliated with it, the group also pioneered the Inghimasi tactic used in the attack, and its fighters have largely employed the tactic on the battlefield. The group maintained close ties to Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia through networks in Libya and has established multiple training camps across Libya and has recruited Tunisians to these camps, which were located around Sirte and Tripoli. During beginning of the infighting between ISIL and its former allies such as Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham fighters from Katiba al-Bittar took part in open fighting against ISIL's opponents in Markada and Atarib, in the process losing several fighters.
Organizations designated as terrorist by Bahrain are organizations that have been designated by the Bahrain government as terrorist organisations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains a public list of designated terrorist individuals and entities.
Wissam Bin Hamid was a Libyan jihadist militant and warload.