A Look at Influential al-Qaeda Member Abu Anas al-Libi and His Ties to Ansar al-Shari’a

A Look at Influential al-Qaeda Member Abu Anas al-Libi and His Ties to Ansar al-Shari’a

In a clandestine operation that angered many Libyans, especially Islamists, U.S. Special Forces captured Nazih Abd al-Hamid al-Ruqai from outside his Tripoli home last October. Known as Abu Anas al-Libi, al-Ruqai is a Libyan al-Qaeda suspect with a $5 million bounty on his head for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Many Libyan militias and Libyan government official were quick to react with anger over the seizure of Abu Anas, who is thought to be an influential figure among militants. 

Former al-Qaeda Operative 

Abu Anas is regarded by the U.S government as “the builder of al-Qaeda’s network in Libya.” [1] Born in 1964 and raised in Tripoli, Abu Anas moved to Sudan in the late 1980s or early 1990s where he allegedly met Osama bin Laden and joined al-Qaeda. As a computer engineer, Abu Anas’s expertise in computer hardware and advanced technology helped him rise quickly in al-Qaeda’s ranks. Abu Anas left Sudan in 1995 and briefly stayed in Qatar before moving to Britain where he was granted asylum on the grounds that he was under threat from Mu’ammar Qaddafi’s regime in Libya (Assakina, February 18, 2012; Independent [London], October 7, 2013; Telegraph, October 15, 2013). 

The United States suspected Abu Anas of having scouted Western and Israeli targets in Kenya in 1993, such as the U.S. embassy in Nairobi (The Guardian, October 6, 2013). In 1999, according to a source described by the Independent as a former FBI official, Abu Anas was questioned by police in Manchester about the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi (Independent [London], October 7, 2013). Following the interrogation, Abu Anas fled the country in 1999 to avoid arrest when he was indicted by the United States for his role in the 1998 embassy bombings (Telegraph, October 15, 2013). [2] In a subsequent raid on his home, police found a 180-page al-Qaeda manual on terror attacks and assassinations (Independent [London], October 7, 2013). 

From Britain, Abu Anas fled to Afghanistan with his son Abdullah Alriqiei, where he worked as a close associate of Osama bin Laden. According to his son, Abu Anas left Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks in 2001 and moved to Iran, where he was arrested and spent seven and a half years imprisoned in Iran (al-Arabiya, October 8, 2013; Elaph, October 9, 2013). Abu Anas later renounced his terror ties and was invited back to Libya by the former ruler Qaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam, in an effort to reconcile with militants who had renounced violence (The Guardian, October 6, 2013). According to his son, Abu Anas had been working in the oil industry in Libya. On October 6, 2013, Abu Anas was pulled from his vehicle and arrested. 

Islamist Backlash After Libi’s Capture 

Abu Anas’ arrest in October 2013 sparked outrage across the country, with the Islamic camp and many citizens denouncing the capture as an infringement of Libyan sovereignty. The government’s muted response to the operation, coupled with remarks by his relatives concerning the local Arabic accent of his abductors, added fuel to the fire (al-Shurooq Online, October 8, 2013). Suspecting a government role, Dar al-Ifta (the office of the Grand Mufti and Libya’s supreme religious authority) quickly issued a statement condemning the abduction. The Muslim Brotherhood and its Justice and Construction Party did the same and sought clarification from the government over reports that it had prior knowledge of the operation. 

Retaliation came from the powerful Libyan Revolutionary Operations Chamber (LROC), a new group composed of revolutionaries and militias from across the country. The LROC kidnapped Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zaidan on October 10, 2013 and kept him in custody for several days before releasing him. The LROC said it carried out the operation to avenge Abu Anas’s arrest after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the Libyan government had prior information about the raid that seized Abu Anas (al-Quds al-Arabi [London], October 10). The group also declared a state of high alert in all Libyan cities and called on its members to “go into the streets to kick out all foreigners” illegally residing in Libya, saying that foreign powers were infringing on the sovereignty of the state. [2] The LROC, mandated in July 2013 by head of the National Congress Nuri Abu Sahmain to bring security to Tripoli, is headed by Shaykh Shaban Masoud Hadia (a.k.a. Abu Obeida Zawi). Hadia is an influential figure among the revolutionaries and was a jihadist preacher in Yemen for many years (al-Sharq al-Awsat [London], October 11). 

The most forceful reaction came from Ansar al-Sharia, and perhaps substantiate Abu Anas’s influence among the militants and his alleged ties with the militant group said to be behind several attacks in the post-Qaddafi era. 

Al-Qaeda’s Ties With Ansar al-Shari’a 

Ansar al-Shari’a issued a strongly-worded statement on October 8, 2013, calling for “the captive brother” Abu Anas to be freed from “those unjust disbelievers who have seized the lands and violated the sanctities, with every legitimate way allowed by the pure Shari’a.” [3] The statement further criticized the rulers, saying: 

Ansar al-Shari’a staged a demonstration in Benghazi against Abu Anas’s detention, and dedicated its Eid al-Adha charitable drive to him. The videos posted on the group’s Twitter feed and Facebook page show its members distributing sheep, food items and leaflets to poor people in a large tent sporting a banner inscribed with Abu Anas’s name above. [5] 

Ansar al-Shari’a Tunisia leader Saifallah Benhassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyadh) was arrested in the Libyan city of Misrata on December 30, 2013. He reportedly fought as a mujahideen in Afghanistan and publicly declared his group’s backing for al-Qaeda (Libya Herald, December 30, 2013). Ansar al-Shari’a groups are able to operate in Libya with help from al-Qaeda. The U.S. Department of State designated Ansar al-Shari’a in Benghazi, Ansar al-Shari’a in Darna and Ansar al-Shari’a in Tunisia as Foreign Terrorist Organizations on January 10. [6] 

Looking Forward 

Al-Zawahiri recently released a statement in which he accused the United States of kidnapping Abu Anas and said that this proved the Libyan government was an American puppet (South China Morning Post, January 27). Critics of this arrest suggest that Abu Anas was largely, if not totally inactive as an operative following his release from an Iranian prison. Currently there is no evidence showing that he was active during this time. Al-Zawahiri’s statement demonstrates that al-Qaeda is using the arrest as fodder for propaganda against the United States and the Libyan government. This is not, however, evidence that Abu Anas is an active and dangerous individual. In the near future, more details about Abu Anas’s relationship with al-Qaeda senior leadership may be uncovered by American authorities. 

Zainul Abid is an expert on Middle East and Asia-Pacific region based in New Delhi, India.

Notes 

1. “Al-Qaeda in Libya: A Profile,” United States Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, August 2012, https://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/aq-libya-loc.pdf.

2. See the statement issued by the LROC and posted on their official Facebook Page on October 7, 2013, https://tinyurl.com/nnguxks.

3. “Statement from Ansar al-Shari in Libya on capture of Abu Anas by the US”, October 9, 2013, https://tinyurl.com/nldktm4.

4. Ibid.

5. “Steps to empower campaign for the captive, Abu Anas al-Libi; providing sacrificial animals to poor and needy families,” October 20, 2013, You Tube, https://tinyurl.com/lamkrhn.

6. Terrorist Designations of Three Ansar al-Shari’a Organizations and Leaders, Office of the Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State, January 10, 2014, https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2014/01/219519.htm.