A Benghazi power, Libya militia eyed in attack (Al Qaeda with a different name)

google ^ | 9/18/2012 | HAMZA HENDAWI

[tobyhill]

Suspicion in last week's attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans has focused on members of a hardcore Islamist militia known for its sympathies to al-Qaida, its fierce animosity to the U.S. and its intimidation of other Muslims who don't conform to its harsh ideology.

That doesn't mean Libyan authorities will move against Ansar al-Shariah soon. The group is among the most powerful of the many, heavily armed militias that the government relies on to keep security in Benghazi.

In fact, it guards one of Benghazi's main hospitals.

Libya's militias are a legacy of last year's bloody civil war that led to the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi — and their continued power underscores the weakness of the country's new political leadership nearly a year after the war ended. With a range of ideologies, the militias arose from local groups that took up arms and battled Gadhafi's forces. Across the country, they still resist integration into the armed forces and remain in many places the sole forces keeping a fragile sense of order.

Ansar al-Shariah, which denies it was part of the attack, is not the biggest of Benghazi's militias. But it is viewed as the most disciplined and feared, with links to other militant groups in Benghazi and eastern Libya. They are also the most forceful in demanding that the new Libya be ruled by a strident and intolerant interpretation of Islam and Shariah law not far removed from al-Qaida's.

[Don Corleone]

Not only did Obama enter into an illegal war in Libya but he “Fast and Furious(ed)” countless weapons that are now coming back to murder Americans and others dumb enough to believe in the Marxists ‘teachers lounge’ idea of diplomacy.

[SunkenCiv]

A map of the Sahel region showing where Al Qaeda operates (AFP/Graphic)

[SunkenCiv]

• Obama: "I want to make sure we end before the call to prayer"
• Iran Deploys Troops, Ballistic Missiles To Eritrea [2008]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks tobyhill.

[Ozymandias Ghost]

“In fact, (Ansar al-Shariah) guards one of Benghazi’s main hospitals.”
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Anybody know which hospital and if it is the one Ambassador Stevens was taken to???

[Ozymandias Ghost]

“Ansar al-Shariah’s prestige was boosted when the militia took over security at the Jalaa Hospital, the city’s main emergency hospital. Its fighters are posted at the hospital entrance and in its halls.”
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Oops; ‘just answered part of my own question ...should’ve read the entire article before posting!

[piasa]

Ansar al Shariah = Partisans of Islamic Law

The head of Ansar al Shariah is Mohammed Zahawi

One of Ansar al Shariah's units is based in Derna

The Derna unit is headed by former Gitmo detainee Abu Sufayan bin Qumu