INTELLIGENCE UPDATE: Jihadis being supplied in Benghazi, ISIS and ‘most wanted’ international terrorists in Libya

The following information was reported on the program sin’at al-mawt (Industry of death) on the Dubai-based, Saudi owned satellite TV channel al-Arabiyya.  This is a weekly half-hour program that discusses aspects of international terrorism and jihadism.  For this installment, the program host was in Libya where he first interviewed a Libyan maritime officer, and then a Libyan journalist who tracks all the radical groups operating in Libya.  Following are the main take-away points from that program aired on Friday 29 March 2019.

• Though ISIS radicals were supposedly driven from the coastal city of Sirte, Libya, in 2018, the ISIS black flag still flies over a few buildings—and, most ominously, the port of Sirte remains as the primary artery for Qatar and Turkey to ship jihadis, arms, and cash for ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Muslim Brotherhood groups.
• Even though the city of Benghazi is the Headquarters for the anti-jihadi army of Egyptian-supported General Khalifa Haftar, Benghazi harbor also still remains as a conduit through which the Jihadis are getting supplies from the outside.
• (The above two items were reported by the maritime officer.  The remainder of this wrap-up will come from the Libyan journalist who has specialized in following radical movements since the fall of Qadhafi.  This journalist had a large screen full of icons, each icon represented either a terrorist he was following, or a jihadi group.  When he touched the icon, it would bring up an entire page of info on the individual or group.)
• Nearly every terrorist on international “most-wanted” lists are here in Libya.
• One of the chief suspects in the killing of the U.S. ambassador (Stevens, in the Benghazi incident), fled Libya for Turkey.  Turkey has steadfastly refused to extradite him to America, and instead sent him to Tunis where he joined the ansar ash-shari’a (which participated in the Benghazi job) and is now active again in Libya.
• Saif al-‘Adel (the sword of justice), al-Qaeda’s chief military figure, is also among the international “most wanted” currently present in Libya.
• Qatari ministry of defense officers have been seen and filmed interacting with jihadi groups in Libya.  So, they are not just delivering supplies, they are most likely actually involved in the training of some of the jihadi personnel.

COMMENTARY

The same TV program sin’at al-mawt reported the week previously that Qatar was flying foreign jihadis and equipment into the NE Libyan city of Derna which is under the complete control of ISIS.

The U.S. has offered a $10,000,000 reward for information on Saif al-‘Adel’s location, due to his alleged part in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa.  He joined the Egyptian army in the mid-70’s, did some training in the Soviet Union, and rose to the rank of Col. Before leaving the Egyptian army in 1981.  He was considered to be an expert in explosives.  After leaving the army he joined the Egyptian Islamic Jihad terrorist group.  As such, he was accused in 1987 of plotting to overthrow the Egyptian government.

After charges were dismissed he fled to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets who had once trained him.  He is believed to have opposed the 9/11 operation on the grounds that it would backfire, though he was thought to be connected with the kidnapping of journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.  After the Soviets were booted out of Afghanistan, he stuck around for awhile to train the Taliban.

At some point during the 1990s he was in Southern Lebanon (along with a few other al-Qaeda bigwigs) training a group called “Hezbollah al-Hejaz.”  This is significant for a couple of reasons.  First off, the term “Hezbollah,” which means “Party of God,” is a term used almost exclusively by Shi’a terrorist groups aligned with Iran.  Therefore, this is yet one more example of al-Qaeda-linked Sunni terrorists cooperating with Shi’a groups aligned with Iran.  A fact of life that “inside-the-beltway” experts refuse to acknowledge.

“Al-Hejaz” refers to the western part of Saudi Arabia where the pan-Islamic Holy Sites of Mecca and Medina are located.  Thus, the very name of this group indicates that its primary purpose is to wrest the Islamic Holy Sites from the hands of the Saudis, if not to overthrow the Saudi government itself.  Al-Qaeda’s helping to train this group is significant.

Since “Saif al-‘Adel” is an obvious movement name, it was originally thought that his real name was Mohammed Ibrahim Makkawi.  On 29 February 2012 a person of that name flew into the Cairo airport whereupon Egyptian authorities promptly arrested him (because that name was on international watch lists).  After he donated a couple of fingernails to his Egyptian interrogators the unfortunate fellow was finally able to convince them that he wasn’t Saif al-‘Adel.

It is now thought that his real name is Salah ad-Deen Zaidan.  According to Wikipedia, however, the FBI, however continues to misidentify him as Mohammad Ibrahim Makkawi.

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