In a statement released online, al Qaeda’s emir provides several goals for Muslims to strive toward. While ignoring the toll that al Qaeda’s violence has taken inside the Muslim world, Zawahiri says that Muslims must resist the “Crusader” alliance and implement sharia law.
The Moroccan Interior Ministry announced earlier this month that it had disrupted planned terrorist attacks by an organization calling itself Ansar al Sharia in the Islamic Maghreb. The group allegedly sought the support of al Qaeda’s allies in northern Mali, and reportedly partnered with an unnamed Egyptian from the Sinai.
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The Tunisian government arrested Bilel Chaouachi in connection with the Sept. 14 storming of the US Embassy in Tunis. Chaouachi has been identified as a member of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia, which orchestrated the embassy assault, and has openly praised al Qaeda’s leaders.
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An al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader known as Nadir Haider Nasser al Shaddadi was among nine fighters killed in the attack in Abyan province.
Rachid Ghannouchi, the co-founder and leader of Ennahda, urged Salafists to be patient, build institutions, and “take your time to consolidate what you have gained.” He also met with Ansar al Sharia emir Seifallah ben Hassine.
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The State Department has announced that Ansar al Sharia in Yemen is simply an “alias” for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is attempting to “rebrand itself.” The Ansar al Sharia brand is being employed by al Qaeda-linked groups elsewhere, including in Tunisia and Libya.
The strike is the first recorded in Yemen in nearly a month, and took place just six days after President Hadi praised the US’s drone program.
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The Sept. 14 assault on the US Embassy in Tunis was orchestrated by Seifallah ben Hassine, a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi, who has longstanding ties to al Qaeda. Hassine currently heads Ansar al Sharia Tunisia.
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A report published by the federal research division of the Library of Congress highlights al Qaeda’s clandestine strategy for Libya. Working under orders from senior al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan, al Qaeda operatives in Libya are in the final stages of creating a fully operational network.
Sufyan ben Qumu was transferred from Guantanamo to Libya in 2007, and then freed in 2010. He leads a brigade in Ansar al Sharia and is a key al Qaeda operative in Libya, according to a Congressional report.