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Libyan Islamic Fighting Group

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Libyan Fighting Group (Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah bi-Libya)
Dates of operation1995 - present
MotivesEstablish an Islamic state in Libya
Active regions Libya

The Libyan Fighting Group (LIFG) also known as Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah bi-Libya is the most powerful radical faction waging Jihad in Libya against Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafis regime. Shortly after the 9-11 attacks, LIFG was banned worldwide (as an affiliate of al-Qaeda) by the UN 1267 Committee.[1]

History

LIFG was founded in the fall of 1995 by Libyans who had fought against Soviet forces in Afghanistan. It aims to establish an Islamic state in Libya and views the current regime as oppressive, corrupt and anti-Muslim, according to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. LIFG claimed responsibility for a failed assassination attempt against Gaddafi in February 1996, which was in part funded by MI6 according to David Shayler, and engaged Libyan security forces in armed clashes during the mid-to-late 1990s.[2] They continue to target Libyan interests and may engage in sporadic clashes with Libyan security forces.[3] They strongly deny any links with al-Qaeda and are keen to emphasize that LIFG has never carried out an attack outside Libya or against civilians.[citation needed]

On October 10, 2005, the United Kingdom's Home Office banned LIFG and fourteen other militant groups from operating in the UK. Under the United Kingdom's Terrorism Act 2000, being a member of a LIFG is punishable with a 10-year prison term. The Financial Sanctions Unit of the Bank of England acting on behalf of HM Treasury issued the orders to freeze all their assets.[4] The fourteen banned groups were:

Mohammed Benhammedi lived and worked in Liverpool at the time of the UN sanction against him. Sergey Zakurko, the father to his Lithuanian mistress was suspended from his job at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) for fear that the link could pose a security threat.[5]

One of al-Qaeda's most senior members, Atiyah Abdul-Rahman, is purportedly a member of LIFG as well.[6]

The "Summary of Evidence" from Mohammed Fenaitel Mohamed Al Daihani's Combatant Status Review Tribunal. states: "The Sanabal Charitable Committee is considered a fund raising front for the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group."[7]

UN-embargoed affiliates

On 7 February 2006 the UN embargoed five specific LIFG members and four corporations, all of whom had continued to operate in England until at least October 2005. Those nine are in the following table; the accusations are according to the US State Department.[8]

Abd Al-Rahman Al-Faqih عبد الرحمن الفقيه Possibly the same person as the jihadist writer Abdul-Rahman Hasan.[9] Wanted in Morocco in connection with the mass murders of 16 May 2003 in Casablanca.
Ghuma Abd'rabbah غومه عبد الرباح Trustee of the Sanabel terrorist charity, by which he transferred money and travel documents to terrorists abroad.
Abdulbaqi Mohammed Khaled عبد الباقي محمد خالد Trustee of the Sanabel terrorist charity; GIA affiliate.
Mohammed Benhammedi محمد بن حامدي Financier of LIFG.
Tahir Nasuf طاهر ناصف Previously of the Libyan GIA circle in the UK.
Sara Properties Limited Source of some of Benhammedi's money.
Meadowbrook Investments Limited Source of some of Benhammedi's money.
Ozlam Properties Limited Source of some of Benhammedi's money.
Sanabel Relief Agency Limited Alias SARA, a charity front by which LIFG transacted with other al-Qaeda components (including GICM) via its office in Kabul, prior to the fall of the Taliban.

Mass release of captives

On April 9, 2008, Al Jazeera reported that Libya released at least over 90 members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.[10][11] The Italian press agency Adnkronos International reported the release was due to the efforts of Sayf al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and leader of the charity Gaddafi International Foundation for Charity Associations. It reported that a third of the LIFG members Libya was holding were released.

Adnkronos International reported that the group was founded in Afghanistan by Abu Laith Al Libi and other veterans of Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.[11]

Relationship with al Qaeda

In November 2007 Noman Benotman, described as the "ex-head of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group", published on open letter to al Qaeda.[12][13][14] According to The Times:[13]

"In November last year Noman Benotman, ex-head of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group which is trying to overthrow the regime of Muammar Gadaffi, published a letter which asked Al-Qaeda to give up all its operations in the Islamic world and in the West, adding that ordinary westerners were blameless and should not be attacked."

Noman Benotman's letter to Zawahiri was published in Akhbar Libya (News) as an op-ed clarification in November 2007. The gist is that Al-Qaeda's efforts have been counterproductive and used as "subterfuge" by some Western countries to extend their regional ambitions. These comments were first aired at a meeting in Kundahar in the summer of 2000.[15]

A 2008 statement attributed to Ayman al-Zawahiri claims that the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group has joined al-Qaeda.[10][11] "Benotman fired back an open letter to Zawahiri questioning his credibility. "I questioned their idea of jihad ... directly you know. This is crazy, it is not Islamic and it's against the Sunni understanding of Islam," Benotman told CNN. Zawahiri chose not to respond. As late as this August Zawahiri's video statements included praise of LIFG leaders, in what may have been a desperate attempt to head off the condemnation he could see coming."[16]

On July 10, 2009, The Telegraph reported that the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group had split with Al Qaeda.[17] The Telegraph reported that senior Al Qaeda members Abu Yahya al-Libi and Abu Laith al-Libi were LIFG members.

In September 2009 a new "code" for jihad, a 417-page religious document entitled "Corrective Studies", was published after more than two years of intense and secret talks between incarcerated leaders of the LIFG and Libyan security officials.[18]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ UN list of affiliates of al-Qaeda and the Taliban
  2. ^ Gary Gambill (March 24, 2005). "The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)". The Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on July 18, 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-14.
  3. ^ US Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism 2002
  4. ^ Bank of England|Publications|News|2006|Financial Sanctions: Al-Qa'ida and Taliban, 8 February 2006
  5. ^ "Al-Qaida accused 'linked to N-plant terror threat'". Liverpool Daily Post. 22 February 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-14.
  6. ^ Wanted: Atiyah Abd al Rahman, Rewards for Justice Program, US Department of State
  7. ^ Summary of Evidence (.pdf) from pages 25-26 of Mohammed Fenaitel Mohamed Al Daihani's Combatant Status Review Tribunal
  8. ^ Treasury Designates UK-Based Individuals, Entities Financing Al Qaida-Affiliated LIFG, US State Department
  9. ^ USMA Militant Ideology Atlas, p. 291
  10. ^ a b "Libya releases scores of prisoners". Al Jazeera. April 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  11. ^ a b c "Libya: Scores of prisoners released from jail". Adkronos International. April 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-10. The group was formed in the mid-1990s in Afghanistan by some veterans of the war against the Soviet forces.
  12. ^ Paul Cruikshank (June 8, 2008). "How Muslim extremists are turning on Osama Bin Laden". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 2009-08-05. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  13. ^ a b Abul Taher (June 8, 2008). "Al-Qaeda: the cracks begin to show". The Times. Archived from the original on 2009-08-05. Retrieved 2008-06-09. In November last year Noman Benotman, ex-head of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group which is trying to overthrow the regime of Muammar Gadaffi, published a letter which asked Al-Qaeda to give up all its operations in the Islamic world and in the West, adding that ordinary westerners were blameless and should not be attacked.
  14. ^ "Op-Ed: Al Qaeda Is Losing Support Among Jihadists". Digital Journal. June 8, 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-08-05. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  15. ^ [dead link] http://www.akhbarlibya-english.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=40
  16. ^ New jihad code threatens al Qaeda, Nic Robertson and Paul Cruickshank, CNN, November 10, 2009
  17. ^ David Blair (2009-07-10). "Extremist group announces split from al-Qaeda". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2009-08-05. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
  18. ^ New jihad code threatens al Qaeda, Nic Robertson and Paul Cruickshank, CNN, November 10, 2009
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