IRISH TIMES.com: "ISLAMIC MILITANT GROUP PLEDGES SUPPORT TO ANTI-GADAFY REBELS" (SNIPPET: "IN A drab villa down a rutted road in Ajdabiya, the key eastern town recaptured last weekend by rebels, sit two leading members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)." SNIPPET: ""Everything has changed now," says Abdul Monem al-Madhouni, who wears a scarf in the red, black and green colours of the rebels' flag over a striped shirt and slacks. "This is a new era and there is no need to hide anything." He and his companion, who gives his name as Abdullah Mansour, sit on the governing council of Libya's foremost militant group.") (March 29, 2011)
stepping back in time...FreeRepublic.com - Discussion Forum (NATIONAL POST): "AL-QAEDA TARGETS GADDAFI" (SNIPPET: "A Canadian intelligence report says al-Qaeda-backed militants in Libya want to assassinate Colonel Muammar Gaddafim providing a possible explanation for the dictator's recent attempts to improve relations with the West, The Canadian Security Intelligence Service report shows that Col. Gaddafi, once a major sponsor of terrorist violence, is now a terrorist target who shares a common enemy with the West: Osama bin Laden. The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) is the most powerful radical faction waging holy war against Col. Gaddafi. It aims to establish an Islamic state in Libya and views the current regime as oppressive, corrupt and anti-Muslim, CSIS said.") (December 24, 2003)
NOTE The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2696891/posts
Islamic militant group pledges support to anti-Gadafy rebels
Irish Times ^ | Mar 29, 2011
Posted on March 30, 2011 6:08:47 AM PDT by KeyLargo
Islamic militant group pledges support to anti-Gadafy rebels
Tue, Mar 29, 2011
Leaders deny links to al-Qaeda and promise to rebuild Libya so as to avoid Somalia’s fate, writes MARY FITZGERALD in Ajdabiya, eastern Libya
IN A drab villa down a rutted road in Ajdabiya, the key eastern town recaptured last weekend by rebels, sit two leading members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG).
In the past, the two men, both grizzled veterans of the 1980s jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan, would have baulked at the prospect of an interview, let alone given their names or agreed to be photographed.
“Everything has changed now,” says Abdul Monem al-Madhouni, who wears a scarf in the red, black and green colours of the rebels’ flag over a striped shirt and slacks. “This is a new era and there is no need to hide anything.”
He and his companion, who gives his name as Abdullah Mansour, sit on the governing council of Libya’s foremost militant group. Its members, one of the greatest threats to Gadafy regime since it was set up in the 1990s, run to the high hundreds. The two, both of whom recently returned to Libya after years in exile, say they have permission from the 12-member LIFG council to give the interview and what they say reflects its position.
“We are with the people and we are supporting the people,” says Mansour when asked for the LIFG stance on the revolt against Gadafy’s rule. “We have opened our hearts and our hands to all the Libyan people to work together to get rid of Gadafy.”
(Excerpt) Read more at irishtimes.com ...