Libyan Air Force plane shot down or crashes over Derna Libya

A Libyan Air Force MIG-23 was shot down during an airstrike in Derna. The downing was claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked group Ansar Al-Sharia on its Twitter account.

Ansar al-Sharia is a member of the Shura Council of Jihadists of Derna, who now control the city. They drove the Islamic State from Derna last year but are still battling against IS or Daesh in areas near the city and the adjacent mountains. Derna was bombed by unidentified aircraft on Sunday. The attacks killed civilians and damaged a medical facility. The attack was condemned by the UN and both rival governments.
The Libyan Air Force has admitted the loss of the plane but said it crashed due to a mechanical failure. The plane had just recently returned to service after a major overhaul. Spokesperson for the Air Force Abdulkareem Sabra told Reuters news agency that the plane had been attacking Islamic State positions in the town and that the pilot had survived. The Islamic State has been driven out of the city but still has positions on the outskirts. Other sources say the plane went down east of Derna in the Sidi Khaled area. After, the raids yesterday, the new raids today did not hit IS positions at all but were directed at sites occupied by the Derna Shura Council. The Libyan air force denied any responsibility for the earlier raids. The Libyan ambassador to the Arab League from the internationally-recognized House of Representatives(HoR),Ashour Burashi, said that the Sunday attacks on unarmed civilians and a hospital were a war crime.
The Libya Observer, a news source favorable to the General National Congress government in Tripoli, has a somewhat different version of events than the Libya Herald whose account I have just covered, although they agree on many points. The Observer speaks of the plane being from Khalifa Haftar's air force. However, the Libya air force is headed not by Haftar but a close ally of his. The Observer claims the plane came down 35 kilometers to the west of Derna in the Sid Khalid area whereas the Herald sources claimed Sid Khalid is to the east. The Observer names the pilot as Younis Al-Dinali, who was obviously able to eject himself from the plane before it crashed.
Muftah Hamza, commander of a group called the Al-Hilah axis, said that the MIG-23 was part of Haftar's air force and had taken off from Labraq airbase and claimed:
“The warplane was hovering above Al-Fatayeh area and then it shelled 400 neighborhood randomly, which seems to be a coverage for the UAE’s bombing that targeted civilians in Derna Sunday.”
He said the same plane had bombarded Al-Haijaj area. He said if Haftar actually wanted to target Islamic State positions he should have coordinated his attacks with his forces in Derna. Interesting that Hamza identifies the aircraft bombing Derna on Sunday as from the UAE.
GNC member, Mansour Al-Hasadi said that the air strikes on Derna on Sunday happened concurrently with a plan by fighters associated with the Derna Shura Council to attack Islamic State forces in the al-Fatayeh and neighborhood 400 areas on the east coast. However, the strikes hit civilian targets including the Kidney Disease Center of Al-Wahda Hospital. The Derna Shura Council issued a statement saying that Dignity Operation's war on the Islamic State was simply a propaganda tool. Operation Dignity is a military operation designed to rid Libya of Islamists including Libya Dawn the militia that are the main armed forces of the rival General National Congress(GNC) government. It began in May of 2014 and is still ongoing. The operation is contradictory to the aims of the Libyan Political Agreement. Haftar opposes the Shura Council of Derna group as well as the Islamic State. The Derna rulers oppose Haftar but are on good terms with the rival GNC government. The HoR does not have any control over Derna.
A member of the General National Congress, Mansour Al-Hasadi, said sources confirmed that the airstrike that targeted Derna Sunday dawn was concurrent with a plan by the backup forces of Derna Shura Council to attack and eradicate IS/Daesh militants from Al-Fatayeh and neighborhood 400 areas on the east coast. In a press release, Al-Hasadi said that the bombing caused casualties and fatalities among the local civilians, and damaged buildings including Omar Ibn Al-Khattab mosque, as well as the Kidney Disease Center of Al-Wahda hospital. He claimed.
"The unidentified airstrike coincided with a heavy fire opened by the IS militants as they endeavored to seize the opportunity and infiltrate into Bab Tobruk neighborhood and then tried to encircle the Shura revolutionaries in Al-Fatayeh axis."

Peter William Bodde confirmed by US Senate as US ambassador to Libya

The United States Senate has confirmed Obama's choice as US Ambassador to Libya, Peter William Bodde. He will work out of Tunis, the capital of neighboring Tunisia.

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The U.S. embassy in Tripoli has been closed for security reasons for some time. In September 2012, an attack in Benghazi, where the U.S. had a consular office, killed then-Ambassador Chris Stevens along with four other Americans. The attack was believed to be by the radical Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia. For security reasons, U.S. diplomatic work is done from Tunis. There was no U.S. ambassador to Libya after the killing of Stevens until Deborah Jones was appointed in May of 2013.

Bodde had been serving as ambassador to Nepal since 2012, but before that he had been assistant chief of mission at the US Embassy in Baghdad. The vote in the Senate approved Bodde by a vote of 95 for to 0 against. Bodde was nominated by Obama back in July.

In other Libya news, a Libyan-American group has filed a complaint against the UN demanding it investigate circumstances surrounding the hiring of Bernardino Leon, the former UN Special Envoy to Libya. The Tripoli-based General National Congress has already demanded an explanation of the UN's actions given Leon had an obvious conflict of interest. A Washington Post article reports:Emadeddin Muntasser, co-founder of the Libyan American Public Affairs Council, told The Associated Press that Leon’s actions, including negotiating the high-paying job with the UAE while serving as mediator between Libya’s rival governments, “threaten the future of Libya.”Leon has insisted there was no conflict of interest and the UN knew of his negotiations for the UAE job paying over $1,500 a day. He accepted the job back in June and was negotiating an increase in housing allowances over the summer. The GNC has pointed out that Leon had refused to make amendments it suggested to his final draft. While he claimed amendments were not possible, he amended the document himself.

Recently, Leon has said he is reconsidering acceptance of the position until he has clarification of charges that the UAE shipped arms to the House of Representatives(HoR) government to aid their commander Khalifa Haftar — who has been carrying of a military operation against Islamists, including the GNC forces, since May of 2014. There is a UN ban on sending arms to Libya. Abdulgader al-Huwali, head of the political affairs committee of the GNC claims his organization will issue a statement to the UN that they will refuse to recognize Martin Kobler, Leon's replacement as UN Special Envoy to Libya unless the UN opens a "transparent investigation" into the hiring of Leon. Kobler says that he wants to restart the dialogue based upon work that he already been done.

Islamic State being driven out from last area of their former stronghold Derna

The Libyan news agency Lana reports dozens of Islamic State(IS) fighters were killed in battle with Shura Council of Derna Jihadists as they seek to drive IS from an eastern area of the city.

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Earlier reports claimed the Islamic State had been driven out of the city and fled to nearby mountainous areas. However, an eastern area of Derna known as Fataeh was still apparently under control of the Islamic State and is only now being cleared of IS militants. Lana, a news agency associated with the Tripoli government, claims this is the last area of Derna under IS control. The battle for Derna has been going on for more than a week now.

Derna was the first city in Libya to come under IS control and the group has been a significant presence in the city since late last year. However, there were other militias as well in the city. Some Islamic State fighters are local, having been converted to IS from other radical groups such as the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia. This is the group thought responsible for the attack on the U.S. consul in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador and several others. Other IS militants in the area are foreigners who are veterans of the Iraq, Syria, and even Yemen conflicts. The Shura council militants have a much longer connection to Derna going back to the days of the Gadaffi regime. The local militants were very active in the battle against Gadaffi forces.

While the Islamic State is being driven out of Derna, it has made advances in the city of Sirte, a second city over which it has gained control. It is ironic that IS is strong in Sirte since the city is known for containing many Gadaffi loyalists. It was one of the last major cities to fall to the rebels and Gadaffi was killed near the city. Gadaffi was known as an opponent of radical Islamists and was notorious for jailing and oppressing them. However, many in Sirte feel that the revolution and the Tripoli government has done nothing for them and hate that government. Officials of the Tripoli government claim that the Gadaffi loyalists have made an opportunistic strategic alliance with IS in order to gain more power in the city. The ousting of IS from Derna will not bring the city under control of the internationally-recognized Tobruk government. Although the city is in an area controlled by Tobruk the Shura Council of Derna is allied with the Tripoli government and will not allow the Tobruk government into the city.

Libya has been split into two rival governments for some time. The UN has been having negotiations to form a unity government since last fall. Bernardino Leon the UN special envoy to Libya had hoped that a deal would be made by the start of Ramadan. There is no news about what is happening and no deal is in sight. Even if there were the head of the Tobruk armed forces, Khalifa Haftar says that he will never negotiate with the Libya Dawn militia the main group associated with the Tripoli government. He hopes for a military solution through his Operation Dignity begun in May 2014.

Report claims Islamic State leader in Libya former rebel hero against Gaddafi

As the Islamic State expands its operations in Libya western media are paying more attention to this issue rather than the conflicts between military forces of the two rival governments, one in Tripoli and the internationally-recognized regime in Tobruk.

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As the appended video shows, one area where the IS holds sway is the city of Derna. It has been a jihadist center for ages even under the Gaddafi regime. However, many jihadist members such as those associated with Ansar al-Sharia, linked with Al Qaeda, are now leaving that organization and pledging allegiance to the Islamic State. The commentator on the video, Catherine Herridge, claims that there are support networks and training camps run by the IS now in Libya. Derna is in an area mostly under the control of the Tobruk government, but IS has also taken control in the city of Sirte, formerly under the control of the Tripoli government. Tripoli has launched military action in the hopes of taking back control.The IS training camps provide fighters for IS in Syria and Iraq as well as for operations in Libya and elsewhere such as Tunisia.

The Director of US National Intelligence James Clapper said :"From an intelligence perspective, we, I think, clearly need to step up our game from an ISR perspective, where we can operate,I think there’s a lot of merit to partnering with the French, who have sort of staked out their claim in the Sahel region of North Africa."

"ISR" stands for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, According to Herridge one of the leaders of IS in Libya is Abdelhakim Behadj. Other reports describe him as the leader of IS in Libya.

Belhadj has an interesting history, becoming at times a hero and good guy and at others a wanted terrorist. He very early grouped with other Islamists to try and unseat Gaddafi but ended up fleeing to Saudi Arabia and then to Afghanistan in 1988 where he fought in the jihad against the Soviet-backed Afghan regime. These groups were supported by CIA funds and when fighting against a regime supported by the Evil Empire were considered freedom fighters. After the Mujahideen took the capital Kabul, Belhadj eventually returned to Libya where he with others formed the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group(LIFG) in 1992. After three unsuccessful attempts to kill Gaddafi, the group was crushed in 1998.

Some sources say that LIFG was linked to Al Qaeda and key members such as Belhadj were members of Al Qaeda. However, Belhadj has denied being a member of Al Qaeda and the leadership of the group had denounced Al Qaeda's tactics and also an announcement they made that LIFG was associated with them. Nevertheless, LIFG was banned worldwide as an affiliate of Al-Qaeda and as a terrorist organization.

In 2002, Belhadj and other leaders of the LIFG fled again to Afghanistan and joined the Taliban. In 2002, after the 9/11 attacks, an arrest warrant was issued for Belhadj by Libyan authorities. By this time, Gaddafi was now on good terms with the west. After the US-led overthrow of the Taliban, Abdel left Afghanistan but was arrested in 2004 as he was leaving Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia with his pregnant wife. He was transferred to Bangkok and placed in the custody of the CIA and retained at a secret prison there. He was then flown on a rendition aircraft back to Libya where he was imprisoned for seven years and allegedly tortured.Belhaj was held in Tajoura prison, near Tripoli, where he says he was chained to a window, deprived of sleep, beaten, hung from the walls and kept in solitary confinement. He claims he was also interrogated by British intelligence officers who visited his cell.

Belhadj was active in the rebellion that ousted Gaddafi and was commander of the Tripoli Military Council following Operation Mermaid Dawn in late August of 2011. After the capture of Tripoli, Human Rights Watch found documents relating to Belhadj from both the CIA and the UK M16. The documents showed that UK intelligence had provided questions for his interrogators. Belhadj launched a suit against the UK government but in December 2013 a High Court judge ruled it could not go forward as it could damage UK national interests.

Neither Belhadj nor the Islamic State in Libya have confirmed Belhadj's status as yet. These reports may simply be designed to brand Belhadj as one of the "bad guys" again and discredit his attacks on the CIA and M16. If he were a commander or leader of the Islamic State in Libya one would think that they would be advertising the fact since he was an important leader in the fight against Gaddafi. One can understand that as an Islamist Belhadj would take up arms against the forces of CIA-linked General Haftar, commander of the Tobruk armed forces, but the Islamic State also is fighting against the rival Tripoli government that has many moderate Islamists in its ranks. If, as he claims, he never belonged to Al Qaeda and indeed disagreed with their tactics, it hardly seems likely he would join with the Islamic State whose violence is even more indiscriminate than that of Al Qaeda.

Twelve Coptic Christians kidnapped in Libya reported released

Altogether, at least 20 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya have been kidnapped within the last few days with 13 of the Egyptians working in Libya being taken by masked gunmen on Saturday in the city of Sirte.

The gunmen went from room to room in a residence for the workers at 2:30 a.m. They asked for identification papers so that they could separate out the Christians from the Muslims. The Christians were handcuffed and taken away. Witness Hanna Aziz, told the Associated Press: "They were 15 armed and masked men who came in four vehicles. They had a list of full names of Christians in the building. While checking IDs, Muslims were left aside while Christians were grabbed. I heard my friends screaming, but they were quickly shushed at gunpoint. After that, we heard nothing. I am still in my room waiting for them to take me. I want to die with them." Aziz said he survived the raid because he did not open his door.

 A few days earlier another seven Coptic Christian workers from Egypt had been abducted as they tried to flee Sirte. Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian foreign minister, met with Coptic Church officials on Saturday as efforts were being made to solve the crisis. A formal diplomatic mission to rescue Egyptian workers would be problematic since Sirte is not under control of the internationally recognized government. Much of the country including the city of Sirte is controlled by the competing government in Tripoli.

 Since Egypt has been supportive of the Libyan army drive against anti-government militas, Egyptian workers have become targets for revenge especially the minority Coptic Christians. There are hundreds of thousands of Egyptian workers both Christian and Muslim who work in Libya. Some suspect the radical Islamic group Ansar al-Sharia to be behind the kidnapping although they have not claimed responsibility. Bloomberg reports that the kidnappings bring the total number of Coptics taken since last week to be at least 21. On December 23rd a Coptic couple were also found dead in Sirte. Mina Thabet, a researcher at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms said: “It’s definitely religiously-motivated. Egyptian Christians are caught up in the middle of sectarian violence and chaos in Libya.”

A recent report from the BBC would indicate that the kidnapping was not actually religiously motivated and negotiations with the kidnappers have obtained their release. Ansar al-Sharia were apparently not involved at all: Muftah Marzuq, head of the council of elders in the coastal city of Sirte, said the men were released after negotiations between the gunmen and local officials."The Egyptians were held by a group that deals in illegal people smuggling, because of a dispute involving money and transportation to the Harawa region east of Sirte," Mr Marzuq told reporters.

Libyan Supreme Court declares recent elections and new government unconstitutional

As if things could not become even more unsettled in Libya, the Libyan Supreme Court has just announced that the internationally recognized and UN-backed government is dissolved and the June elections declared illegitimate.

The elected government moved to the eastern city of Tobruk. It was supposed to convene in Benghazi in August but Benghazi was by then under the control of a umbrella group of Islamist-oriented militias and so was moved to a luxury hotel and a Greek ferry in Tobruk, where the CIA-linked General Haftar could protect them. After all, it would not do to have the new parliament supposedly dominated by anti-Islamists to be attacked and burned, as had happened to the former parliament — which was attacked by Haftar's allies the Zintan brigades as part of his Operation Dignity. A number of Islamists who were elected boycotted the new parliament. A coalition of Islamists have now taken control not only of Benghazi but also Tripoli. They reconvened the General National Council and appointed their own prime minister who then formed a competing government to that in Tobruk.
The ruling came after a member of the Tripoli parliament asked the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of the vote on June 25th in Libya. The vote led to the creation of a government by Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni. He had also been prime minister when the parliament was stormed and burned by allies of General Haftar. At the time he noted that there was a warrant out for Haftar's arrest and he claimed that the attack was illegal and an attempted coup. Now Al-Thinni's government supports Haftar and his Operation Dignity and supposedly Haftar's militia are just part of the Libyan armed forces.
 LANA news agency reported that "The Constitutional Circuit in the Supreme Court has ruled on Thursday to accept the appeal concerning the illegality of developments leading to the elections,. Al Jazeera reporter Mahmoud Abdul-Wahed said that this court ruling means that the present al-Thinni government is unconstitutional. The UN is claiming that it will closely study the decision and also talk with "Libyan stakeholders across the political spectrum, and with international partners."
The UN also says that is will continue to work with all parties to help Libya overcome the present political and security crisis. So far the UN position is that it will talk to everyone except those who count, the two competing groups of militias and the alternative government in Tripoli. Not surprisingly, the talks so far seem to have achieved little or nothing. The Supreme Court decision may have a positive effect in that now the UN can claim that it should talk to figures in the rival government. While the legislature in Tobruk has called an emergency meeting to discuss the verdict, one can expect that it will be dismissed out of hand. Issam al-Jehani, a Tobruk-based parliamentarian said on Facebook: "Lawmakers will not recognise a verdict decided under the gun,"
The prime minister of the rival government Omar al-Hassi called for new elections in a recent interview saying: "We need new elections, This parliament is no longer accepted in Libya. It has lost its legitimacy. We need new elections, The poll must take place under the supervision of (elected) local councils." Al-Hassi claims to be an independent. He describes the present conflict as between "enemies of the revolution" against "revolutionaries". Haftar describes his opponents as Islamist terrorists.
 Al-Hassi's proposals do provide a possible political way out of the crisis, although one fraught with difficulties. It would require Haftar's militias, now the Libyan army, and his Islamist militia foes to agree to a ceasefire, an unlikely scenario. It would require too that the militia leaders accept the results of the political process. In any event elections are unlikely. The more likely scenario is that important power brokers such as Egypt and the UAE with the tacit support of the US and its allies will support the Al-Thinni government in Tobruk and provide aid and training for the Libyan army which is now in effect just an add-on to Haftar's militias. The Libyan situation narrative will be about the war on terror and combating militant jihadists such as those in Anshar al-Sharia the group alleged to be behind that attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. Haftar will be touted as a military leader who can do for Libya what President el-Sisi did for Egypt, turn it into a repressive regime just as bad if not worse than that of Mubarak but having the support of the west and allies such as Saudi Arabia by jailing members of unapproved Islamist groups who will be designated terrorists.
 As shown on the appended video an earlier decision by the Supreme Court that the election of an Islamist-supported prime minister was illegitimate was accepted by the Islamists and the person who lost out in the decision. I doubt that the same acceptance will now come from the government of Al-Thinni in Tobruk.

In Libya jihadist Ansar Al-Shariah group reported to pledge allegiance to Islamic State

Darnah - The militant group Ansar al-Shariah, accused by the U.S. of being behind the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador, declared an "Islamic emirate" in the eastern city of Derna, according to media reports from Libya.

The group also pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Derna — sometimes spelled as "Darna" or "Darnah"- has been occupied and run by radical Islamists for ages. The government was unable to hold elections there "for security reasons." The video below shows a public execution in a soccer field back in August. The city's residents are also avid soccer fans.

Wikipedia describes the city of about 80,000 as one of the most religious in Libya. It has long been home of many radical jihadists.: In 2007, American troops in Iraq uncovered a list of foreign fighters for the Iraqi insurgency. Of the 112 Libyans on the list, 52 had come from Derna. Derna has the reputation of being the most pious Muslim city in Libya. No doubt the city also contributes to the many foreign fighters who have joined battle against Assad. It is hardly surprising that some citizens would be cheering on the Islamic State.

According to Al Arabiya the Libyan national army bombed positions of Ansar al-Sharia in Derna on Saturday killing several. The Libyan National Army referred to in the article are simply those within the Libyan armed forces loyal to CIA-linked General Haftar and are in effect another militia group rather than a true national army. Other members of the armed forces do not support Haftar. However, Haftar has [url=http://www.jamestown.org/programs/tm/single/?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=42443&tx_ttnews[backPid]=757&no_cache=1#.VDQacxacySo t=_blank]declared the troops he leads as the Libyan National Army: General Khalifa Haftar, the self-declared leader of the Libyan National Army, announced the launch of Operation Karama (Dignity) on May 16 with the aim of cleansing Libya of “terrorism and extremism” (al-Arabiya, May 24). This is the initial operation that has resulted in the present situation. Haftar's allies also burned the parliament, and kidnapped some Islamist elected representatives and officials as well. These are the "good guys" who will be supported by the west eventually as part of the war on terrorism. Egypt will also join in, along with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Egypt and the UAE are already accused by the rebels, and for a while by the U.S., of having bombed Tripoli during several night raids to stop Islamist militias from taking over the city but to no avail.
 I am not sure whether the media are deliberately confusing the LIbyan National Army of Haftar and the other official Libyan National Army that is split between those supporting Haftar and those who do not as Wikipedia reports: Since the beginning of the 2014 Libyan Conflict, most of the Army has been split between Khalifa Haftar's "anti-terrorist" faction and Abdulsalam al-Obaidi's faction which has not followed Haftar. The BBC joins in the confusion even though at the end it does speak of Khalifa's militias: The Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, came to prominence in February 2014, when he declared the "suspension" of the government, which was promptly rejected by the authorities.Three months later, his militias launched an offensive against Islamists in Benghazi.
The armed forces has rarely if ever been under actual control of parliament. After Haftar began Operation Dignity and tried to dissolve parliament, his actions were declared a coup attempt and he was ordered arrested. No one had the power to arrest him.
 It is not clear that the new parliament in Tobruk has any more power. It is said to be loosely allied with Haftar. Given that the parliament operates in an area beyond the reach of the Islamists who control the two main cities of Benghazi and Tripoli, it is unlikely to have much choice but to go along with Haftar unless it wants to see the luxury hotel and Greek ferry that it operates from in Tobruk burned and looted.
 An Israeli source also follows the lead of Al Arabiya in claiming that Ansar al-Sharia has taken over control of Derna: The Ansar al-Sharia terror group, affiliated with ISIS, has declared authority during the last several days over the coastal city of Darna, Libya. The article notes that Derna is a strategically located city between Benghazi and the Egyptian border. The article fails to mention that the city has been held by militants for ages. All of a sudden Ansar al-Sharia enters the picture and so it is now a big issue. The article also notes that the radical group in the Sinai battling the Egyptian army has been staging copycat beheadings in the manner of the Islamic State. Note that they are not beheadings in the style of Saudi Arabia. The article suggests that this group has also de facto pledged loyalty to the Islamic State.
 Do not be surprised if suddenly the situation in Libya begins to occupy more media time with frantic calls for western intervention against the imminent threat to every citizen of the developed world. However, it will be no threat to the growth of the military-industrial complex. To be fair and balanced, like Fox news, I have appended a propaganda video of Ansar Al-Shariah.

Attack in Benghazi hurts CIA Libya operations

The attack on a consular office and "safe house" in Libya has set back CIA operations in eastern Libya. About a dozen CIA operatives were among personnel evacuated from Benghazi.

CIA agents were stationed in Benghazi to engage in surveillance of militant groups. One American official said:

"It’s a catastrophic intelligence loss. We got our eyes poked out.”

Among the militant groups targeted by the CIA are Ansar al-Sharia, whom some have blamed for the attack, and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Although there was public anger against militants after the Benghazi attack, there are still entrenched militant groups in the region. They are obviously aware of U.S. intelligence operations in the region.

Frederic Wehrey, a policy analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said:

“The region’s deeply entrenched Salafi community is undergoing significant upheaval, with debate raging between a current that is amenable to political integration and a more militant strand that opposes democracy,”

The CIA and U.S. contractors are helping track shoulder-fired missiles, and Libyan chemical weapons stockpiles, as well as training Libya's new intelligence services. Obviously, Libyan and U.S. intelligence operatives will have close connections.

The CIA operations in Benghazi began within months of the beginning of the Libyan rebellion in February 2011. The former prime minister of Libya, Mustafa Abushagur, was surprised at the number of U.S. operatives who appeared at Benghazi airport to be evacuated. He said he learned about some of the operations only after the attack. So even the former head of the Libyan government, has no idea what the U.S. is doing. Abushagur, who was recently sacked by the Libyan parliament, said

:“We have no problem with intelligence sharing or gathering, but our sovereignty is also key."

He, himself, is a U.S. trained engineer who lived in the U.S. for years.

The militant attacks were not only on the consular compound but also on a so-called safe house about a half-mile away that had four buildings in a compound. This compound was supposed to be secret. No doubt CIA agents operated out of it as well. The N.Y. Times agreed to withhold details of these operations at the request of the U.S. government, as disclosing the information could harm sensitive government activities and put U.S. personnel at risk. However, it is clear that the U.S. is very much involved in Libya. The militants know this and they will paint the Libyan government as a puppet of the U.S. Should the U.S. try to act unilaterally to attack those it thinks responsible for the Benghazi attacks, this would just confirm the militant narrative.

A U.S. review board is to investigate the attacks. The F.B.I. sent its own investigators from New York but they apparently are having difficulty because of the security situation. Some analysts believe that Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb may have been involved in the attack, as communications were intercepted between the attackers and members of the group. Representative Mike Rogers, head of the House Intelligence Committee said that there was:

“a high degree of probability that it is an Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda-affiliated group that had a very specific target in mind, and that was to attack the consulate and cause as much harm, chaos and death as possible.”

Reuters provides different details about the so-called safe house. Reuters describes the house as a secret CIA base and identified as such by Libya. The post was described as 1.2 miles from the consular mission. Two special forces troops were killed at this base when it was also attacked by militants.

Libyan Militant groups unapologetic about Benghazi attack

Militant group Ansar Al-Sharia claim they had no part in killing U.S. embassy staff in Benghazi but do not understand why tears are shed about the death of a diplomat. The real crime to them is the insult to Muslims in the film "Innocence of Muslims".

Powerful militias of various stripes simply refuse to lay down their weapons and cede power to the central government even though the Gaddafi regime is long gone. These groups include Ansar al-Sharia. Some have accused the group of being responsible for the attack on the Bengghazi consulate that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others. The group itself admits that members were present at the demonstration but deny any part in the killings. The government claims to have arrested 50 people as part of its investigation into the attack but has not said whether any are from Ansar al-Sharia.

The group's name Ansar al-Sharia means roughly "patrons of Sharia law". They want to impose Sharia law in areas they control and throughout Libya. There is a group with the same name in Yemen which controlled considerable territory a year ago but have now retreated into the mountains. The U.S. considered them an Al Qaeda linked group. However often such associations are a device to ensure that the U.S. will help the Yemen government suppress them. Once a few drone attacks are made on them they are very apt to link up with AQAM (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) anyway. The Ansar al-Sharia in Libya are said not to have any links with the Yemen group but they do have links to Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia.

Sometimes the group is called Ansar al-Sharia in Beghazi (ASB) since they are quite active in the city. The group is led by Muhammad Zahawi. As well as being linked to the Tunisian Ansar al-Sahri the group is also linked to other smaller Salifi-jihadist battalions including one led by a former Guantanamo prisoner. Some analysts blame the attack on another militia theOmar Abdul Rahman brigades

In an interview with the BBC, the leader of Ansar al-Sharia, Sheikh Mohammed Zahawi justified the group's decision not to give up their arms as follows:

"The battle is not yet over. There are many Gaddafi loyalists in the new administration."

He is no doubt referring not to people who stayed with the Gaddafi regime but who defected and joined the rebels and are now part of the government. Zahawi also said the group sympathized with other militant groups including Al Qaeda. This view is not uncommon.

Diaa Rahman from the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo said that often Al Qaeda is identified simply as a brand to be adopted because of sympathy with their ideas. This makes it even easier for those in the west to label militant groups as Al-Qaeda or Al-Qaeda affiliated even though Al Qaeda as a central organization probably does not even exist.

Rahman says:“

Al Qaeda as an organization, as a command, it doesn’t exist..There are no orders from Ayman Zawahri coming to jihadists in Libya or Sinai to make something....Since the death of Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda has been in a sense reborn because some of its ideas and the model have inspired new militants.”

The Ansar al-Sharia does not want democracy in Libya but Sharia law:

"We don't believe in the democratic system because even those who live in such systems know it's a fake. We want to tell the world that the democratic project doesn't suit us and doesn't suit Islam."

In Benghazi there is a half-built town on the outskirts meant to house about 200,000 people. It was abandoned by the Chinese as the revolt against Gaddafi gathered steam. The Libyan government wants to entice western capital back into Libya and there are lucrative oil deals waiting to be signed. However, as long as security is weak and the government unstable capital will no doubt flow to more friendly climes.

Libyan official blames Gaddafi loyalists for Benghazi attack

Libyan Deputy Interior Minister Wanis al_Sharif claims that those attacking the U.S. consulate in Benghazi were Gaddafi loyalists. A number of Libyan security guards were also killed in the attack.

At a news conference the deputy minister accused Gadaffi loyalists as being behind the attack in Benghazi that killed the U.S. Ambassador and 3 staff members of the U.S. consulate there. Al-Sharif said:

"There were RPGs...which shows there were forces exploiting this. They are remnants of the (former) regime."

He was speaking at a news conference broadcast on Al Jazeera television. He also suggested that the attack could be revenge for the recent extradition from Mauritania of Gaddafi's former intelligence chief.

The minister's explanation does not make much sense. The attack comes as a simultaneous attack happened in Egypt reacting to a film made by an American that portrayed the prophet Mohammed in a manner offensive to many Muslims. The attack was in all probability the work of a radical Islamist group,. As U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton put it the attack was the work of a "small and savage group"

Actually eyewitnesses spoke of Ansar al-Sharia as being behind the demonstration. This group is usually associated with Yemen but Al Qaeda type groups in eastern Libya have begun to use this name to refer to themselves.

The attack on the consulate follows upon the call of al Qaeda leader Ayman-al-Zawahiri for revenge attacks following the death of a senior Libyan Al Qaeda leader in June. The group that may have answered this call is named the Omar Abdul Rahman Brigades. The group claimed responsibility for an earlier attack on a Red Cross office in Benghazi and other attacks as well.

Norman Benotman of the Quilliam Foundation told CNN:

"An attack like this would likely have required preparation. This would not seem to be merely a protest which escalated...According to our sources, the attack was the work of roughly 20 militants, prepared for a military assault; it is rare that an RPG7 is present at a peaceful protest."

The area around Derna is home to radical Islamist commanders who have 200 to 300 men under their command. There are also said to be Al Qaeda type training camps in eastern Libya. These groups are being monitored by U.S. drones no doubt to send a message to the militants. The militants are sending a message in return.

Suicide bomber kills 45 at funeral in Jaar Yemen

Violence continues in Yemen. A U.S. drone strike allegedly killed five Al Qaeda members in eastern Yemen on Saturday. In the city of Jaar a suicide bomber killed at least 45 people in an attack on a funeral of a pro-government tribesman.

According to the Yemeni Defense Ministry a suicide bomber struck during a wake on Saturday night in the city of Jaar. The city used to be a stronghold of Ansar al-Sharia who held it until a recent government offensive that retook the city in June. Although the militants have retreated into the mountains they continue terrorist activities such as this.
As is common when these event happen different sources give different casualty figures. NBC news gives a casualty figure of 25 killed. Both sources agree that the bomber was targeting a group of tribal fighters who had supported the Yemeni armed forces against Ansar al-Sharia. Most of Abyan province had been taken over by Ansar al-Sharia until the offensive. The Abyan governor said."This is a cowardly, criminal, terrorist attack,"
The attack shows that the threat of Islamic militancy in Yemen is far from over. The attack killed Abdul Al Sayed who led the "Popular Committees" formed to fight militants. Two of his brothers were also killed. While the Yemen government with U.S. help has reclaimed control of Abyan province residents claim that the militants are simply laying low and regrouping. At the time of the offensive the militants said that they had made a tactical retreat to fight a guerrilla war.
Saba the Yemeni state news agency said.A number of individuals from these gangs took refuge in the mountains next to the north of Jaar after the big defeat they were dealt by the army and Popular Committees... Today they resume their cowardly suicide operations".

The militants have also assassinated a top southern military commander and killed four policemen just last week. The U.S. is continuing drone attacks against suspected militants.
According to an anonymous official a U.S. drone attack killed five Al Qaeda members traveling in one vehicle in eastern Yemen. The official said:
"A drone fired two missiles at an all-terrain vehicle... killing its five occupants, all members of al Qaeda."
The attack was in Al-Qotn a village in Hadramut province. According to witnesses the area of the attack was sealed off. This keeps any independent observers from seeing what actually happened.
The Yemeni government still faces separatist movements in both the north and south of the country and Islamic militants as well as continuing internal divisions. The original youthful protesters for democracy seem to be more or less out of the picture for now. The long conflict in the country has also produced a humanitarian disaster with many displaced and hungry people.

Top commander in South Yemen assassinated by suicide bomber

On his way to work on Monday (July 18) Maj. Gen. Sali Ali Qatn was killed when a suicide bomber detonated himself in front of his vehicle. As well as the general his driver and a passenger were also killed.

Both Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) and Ansar al-Sharia another militant group are active in southern Yemen and until a recent offensive by the Yemen military with the guidance of U.S special forces had occupied and run several cities.

While there have been reports of clashes and territory has certainly been retaken details of the campaign remain unclear. In some cases locals report that militants just left without a fight. There are reports too that in some areas locals were recruited to help oust the radicals.

General Qatn was one of new president Hadi's first key military appointments. Qatn led the offensive against militants to regain territory. However, there were heavy casualties in some clashes including a raid on a military post east of Aden that killed about 100 soldiers. The central government still has a tenuous hold over the south of the country which at one time was independent. In Aden there are areas where soldiers or police dare not enter for fear of being attacked. In the area where the general was killed there are reports of the black flag of Al Qaeda being flown. For more see this article.

Yemen: Militants kill 32 troops in army base attack

Although the Yemeni military is claiming that it is winning the battle against militants who have occupied territory in Southern Yemen the actual situation seems more complex. The military does seem to have regained some territory including a strategic town of Lawdar.

However other areas are still under control of militants of Ansar al-Sharia and AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula). The press and official pronouncements tend to link groups together perhaps to convince the U.S. that these are all Al Qaeda militants or Al Qaeda linked. It works.

The U.S. has been involved in several air strikes, including one that is said to have killed some militant leaders. Often strikes that are said to be by the government are no doubt by the U.S. Wikileaks cables revealed that at least the former government took credit for U.S. attacks so as to downplay U.S. involvement. Probably the present government is doing the same. There are U.S. Special Forces units operating in Yemen as well.

The struggle against militants has been costly as the most recent attack killed at least 32 soldiers. Some time ago the rebels raided a base outside of Zinjibar killing 185 soldiers and captured many others. Those captured were later released. See this article. The U.S. is strongly backing President Hadi as he has made a strong commitment to defeating Islamic. However Hadi faces opposition from within his government and two separatist movements as well as the Islamic militants who oppose his government. For more see this article.

Patrons of Sharia militants release 73 captured Yemeni soldiers

A provincial official said:"Al-Qaeda has released 73 soldiers they seized in the south in early March," The official was speaking in the city of Jaar which is held by the militant group Ansar Al-Sharia (Partisans of Sharia). The group is often said to be Al Qaeda linked or by this official simply Al Qaeda. This blurring of distinctions between groups is probably a deliberate tactic of Yemeni officials since the U.S. is bound to help them as long as they are fighting Al Qaeda.

The official claimed that two busloads of soldiers were driven from Jaar to Aden the main port city in the south. The official said that religious and tribal mediators had secured their release. There were rumors that they were to be executed. There is no account of what the militants were given in exchange. Perhaps there are promises that local tribes will not take part in government attempts to drive out the militants from areas they occupy.On March 4 the militants had successfully attacked an army base near Zinjibar killing 185 soldiers and capturing the 73 who are now released.

The president of Yemen Hadi recently held talks with the FBI director Robert Mueller. No doubt there will be renewed attempts to dislodge militants from areas they occupy. This will stir up more unrest in the south that already has a separatist movement as well as militant groups. For more see this article.

Yemen: Drones, deaths and violence in clashes with militants

Among the victims of the latest violence were three children killed by an IED. The Yemen defence ministry said that three local Al-Qaeda militants were killed in the province of Bayda.

The ministry said that the three were killed in a Yemeni air strike. However a security official told AFP that the strike was by a U.S. drone. This fits the pattern of the Yemeni government always taking responsibility for attacks that are carried out by U.S. drones. Usually the U.S. does not acknowledge the attacks unless they hit a high profile target such as Anwar al-Awlaki.

Security officials also said a man was killed and five injured in another militant attack on the town of Loder. The man killed belonged to a local group formed to fight off militants along with the Yemeni security forces. On the same day three more of the same force were killed as militants wage a fierce battle for control of the town. In five days of fighting authorities report that 222 people have been killed including 183 militants as they try to seize the town.

. Since last May Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Sharia) have taken control of areas of several provinces including Zinjibar the capital of Abyan province. There are reports of several drone attacks and shelling from U.S. ships off shore. No doubt the violence will continue as Yemen faces internal divisions, two separatist rebellions, and a surge in militant attacks and takeover of territory. For more see this article.

So far there is little sign of any democratic reforms. The transitional government is made up of Saleh supporters and official opposition members who gave themselves immunity from prosecution for any past misdeeds along with former president Saleh and his relatives. The new president ran unopposed and was former vice-president under Saleh. This is all fine as far as the U.S. and the GCC are concerned.

Yemen: Government forces attack militants with U.S. help

Yemeni government forces are trying to wrest parts of southern Yemen from Al Qaeda and other Islamic militants who have occupied considerable swaths of territory while the country was in turmoil.

President Hadi the former protege and vice-president under Saleh has fired some Saleh loyalist from positions of power but a son of Saleh continues to run the elite Republican Guards.

Two who were fired refused to give up their positions and one general closed down the airport in the capital by surrounding it with loyal troops. The airport is open again now. See this article.



A mainly covert U.S. role in Yemen relies to a considerable extent on drones which are flown from a base in nearby Djibouti on the horn of Africa. There is also a secret base thought to be in Saudi Arabia.However, there are also special forces on the ground.

Yemeni officials also reported that the capital of Abyan province, Zinjibar was hit by missile fire from the Gulf of Aden. The Yemeni government does not have the capability to mount such an attack so no doubt it was mounted from U.S. warships. Zinjibar is occupied by the militant group Ansar al Sharia.

Hadi has so far thrown his lot in with the U.S. in making a priority attacks upon Al Qaeda and other militant groups such as Ansar al Sharia. Saleh alternated attacks with deals with the militants.

Since last May there have been 26 reported U.S,. drone strikes in Yemen. So far this year there have been a dozen already. However militants are stepping up attacks too often taking the battle to the military by attacking bases. The military has already suffered 250 killed this year and lost several bases to militants.

AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) and Ansar al Sharia have bet wen them captured a number of towns in southern provinces. They have often repelled attempts by government forces to retake the towns.

Ansar al-Sharia has been especially active wiping out some 150 government troops in an attack west of Zinjibar. Often weapons caches have been captured as well. In the captured towns the group imposes its own strict Sharia law.

The south of Yemen was long a separate state. There is a strong separatist movement as well as Islamic radicals active in the south. Many inhabitants feel abandoned by the central government and believe they get little or nothing from the union. For more see this article.

Yemen: 64 killed in southern Yemen battle with militants

Fighting in the southern Yemen town of Lawder has taken a toll of 64 according to reports. This includes 18 troops at a base that was attacked by militants from Ansar al-Sharia.

Anti-militant tribes helped out the military and also lost members. Reportedly the military retreated inside their fortified base. The Yemeni military reported provided tribe members with arms.

The town is on the one major highway in the province of Abyan. Militants hold much of the province. The capital Zinjibar fell to the Anar al-Sharia group almost a year ago. They hold areas north of the town of Lawder as well. Gaining control of Lawder would link areas they occupy. The U.S. has made drone attacks on areas controlled by the group which the U.S,. considers linked to Al Qaeda. For more see this article.

Yemen: U.S. drone attacks may target opponents of regime who are not Al Qaeda

While the U.S. official goal in Yemen attacks is to strike Al Qaeda the attacks are escalating and may be directed against those simply opposed to the present regime rather than being Al Qaeda groups aiming to attack the U.S. However, the U.S. actions may very well causing militant groups to decide to link with Al Qaeda and contemplate attacking U.S. targets.

While the official justification for extra-judicial killings in these attacks is that the groups attacked represent an imminent threat to the U.S. and hence the attacks are self-defense. However groups such as Ansar Al Sharia who control parts of several provinces were not clearly threats to the U.S. as contrasted with AQAP but they are now characterized as Al Qaeda linked whatever that means. No doubt they may be now they have been subject to U.S. attacks!

Saleh's former vice-president Major Abdu Mansour Hadi is now president and seemingly very supportive of the U.S.surge in drone attacks. In return Hadi receives aid and fulsome praise from the U.S. in spite of the fact he was a fixture in the Salah regime and ran unopposed for the presidency. He is a model figure for democratic transition according to U.S.. authorities.

Jeremy Scahill writes in the Nation that the drone strikes and support for the Yemen government is producing more anti-Americanism and garners recruits for international terrorist acts. As Charles Schmitz a Yemen expert said:: ”The more the U.S. applies its current policy, the stronger Al Qaeda seems to get.”

A former U.S. ambassador to Yemen said:“Drones are a weapon of terror in many ways, and the kind of hostility this is going to breed may not be worth the counter-terrorism gains,” However no one in the Obama administration pays the slightest heed to these warnings. The same type of statement has been made about attacks in Pakistan and with the same results. For more see this article..

Stars and Stripes the U.S. military newspaper also has an excellent account of these drone attacks. The newspaper is often a source of solid information often ignored by the regular press. Here is a snippet from their article:

"" Hadi "has shown the will and ability to make the changes. ... It's a matter of getting the right focus and the right plan and someone to lead it," the senior Defense official said.

Heavily armed American soldiers have begun appearing in large numbers at the Sheraton Hotel in the capital, Sana, a Yemeni official said. ""

It is clear that Hadi is being coached to go in the direction that the U.S. wants. Clear too is the presence of U.S. special forces on the ground in Yemen.

Yemen: U.S. drone strikes kill 6. Militants blow up gas line in retaliation

U.S. drone strikes killed five "suspects" and one civilian in Yemen. A first attack targeted a vehicle reported to contain people connected to Al Qaeda. However an innocent bystander was also killed as well as five others wounded. A second attack destroyed a building that was empty.

As far as Yemen is concerned drone attacks seem to be increasing rather than being scaled back as claimed by some. There was another attack in Pakistan as well.

After the strikes attackers blew up a liquid natural gas pipeline in the same general area. This has forced a halt to all production at a plant mainly run by Total SA of France.

. The militant faction Ansar al_Sharia that controls Abyan province nearby claimed credit for the attack. The text message said in part that the attack was “retaliation for the strike for which Crusader America and its obedient slave in Sanaa are responsible.” The change in government in which Saleh stepped down while his vice president Major Hadi took over and eventually became president has been applauded by the U.S. and the GCC. The new government has cooperated with the U.S. in allowing drone and other strikes. Some special forces are also operating in Yemen. For more see this article

Yemen: U.S. security force attacked by Islamists in city of Aden

The Ansar al_Sharia group that some link to Al Qaeda attacked what the Pentagon described as a security team. This is the first admission that there were any U.S. forces on the ground in Yemen although the presence of some special forces has long been suspected.


Ansar al-Sharia claim to have killed a CIA agent in the attack. The Pentagon however claims they suffered no casualties. The group also claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed a number of people on the same day as the new predisident was sworn in.


According to a Yemeni security official a gunmen shot at a U.S. team that had been training Yemeni security foces. The shots hit their armoured vehicle but injured no one. Pentagon officials claim the attack took place in the city of Aden itself rather than just the province. Interesting that U.S. armoured units are rolling through a main Yemeni city.


Several times Obama has ruled out sending any ground troops to Yemen but no doubt training units and special forces do not count! During the turmoil in Yemen Ansar al-Sharia made inroads in many areas of Yemen taking over the entire province of Abyan. They have made progress in Aden too as the present attack shows.


The U.S. has called Ansar al-Sharia an Al Qaeda front however it is separate from AQAP or Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula that also operates in Yemen and is attacked by the U.S. Drone and air attacks have been common on both groups. For more see this article.