Ansar al Shariah Is Back On The Streets Of Benghazi

Members of Ansar al-Sharia, another al-Qaida-affiliated group, man a checkpoint at the southern Yemeni town of Jaar in April. Government troops recently retook areas in the country's restive south from militant control after a two-month offensive. Reuters/Landov

Libya’s Ansar al Shariah, Expelled After Ambassador Chris Stevens’ Death, Is Back In Benghazi -- McClatchy News

BENGHAZI, Libya — The September death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans was supposed to mark the end of Ansar al Shariah, the extremist militia suspected of being behind the attack and that had controlled the streets of this city for months beforehand, demanding that an Islamist country emerge from the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Three days after the popular ambassador’s death, hundreds of outraged Libyans stormed Ansar al Shariah’s headquarters, routing everyone inside and setting the building ablaze. Members of Ansar al Shariah disappeared, “like sugar in water,” as one Libyan explained. The militant group’s checkpoints came down around the city and its threats against residents that its members had seen as too liberal stopped. Libya, the people of Benghazi seemed to say, would not tolerate extremism in the nation’s second largest city.

That was then. Nine months later, Ansar al Shariah is back on the streets of Benghazi.

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My Comment: These militias are (unfortunately) going to plague Libya for a very long time.

Libyan Militia Behind Benghazi Terror Attack Still Is Still Operating Unimpeded

Ansar al-Sharia Campaigns Facebook page

The Ansar al-Sharia Threat -- Washington Free Beacon

Libyan militia behind Benghazi terror attack still operating unimpeded.

Ansar al-Sharia, the Islamist militia linked to the deadly terror attack against the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, continues to operate Facebook pages and conduct fundraising and proselytize in Libya, according to U.S. officials.

Intelligence reports provided to the U.S. Africa Command earlier this month revealed that Ansar al-Sharia operates several Facebook pages, including one outlet called the Campaigns of Ansar al-Sharia for Dawa and Charity. The website was operating as late as Dec. 15 before being shut down under pressure from the U.S. government.

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My Comment: I guess this is who President Obama was talking about when he mentioned that the U.S. had some good leads on who was responsible for the Benghazi consulate attack.

Who Are The Ansar al-Sharia?

Reuters

Ansar al-Sharia’s Role In Benghazi Attacks Still A Mystery -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

The U.S. didn’t consider Ansar al-Sharia a threat—until they showed up in Benghazi on Sept. 11. Eli Lake on the truth behind Libya’s latest jihadists.

One of the main participants in the Sept. 11 anniversary assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission and Central Intelligence Agency annex in Benghazi is a group formed earlier this year called Ansar al-Sharia, according to the current U.S. intelligence assessment of the attack. Ansar al-Sharia, which translates as “supporters of Islamic law,” has many roles in Libya’s second city. It provides security for the city’s main hospital. It’s also a social-services organization and an ideological movement that seeks to bring its corner of eastern Libya under the rule of an Islamic government, according to the group’s own public information and published interviews with its leaders.

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My Comment: This definitely looks like a U.S. intelligence failure on Ansar al-Sharia .... and a deadly one at that.