FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS
Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi (AAS-B)
( AS OF FEBRUARY 2023 )
OVERVIEW
Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi (AAS-B) emerged alongside other Sunni Islamic militant groups after the 2011 Libyan revolution and sought to establish Islamic law and remove US and other foreign influence from Libya. AAS-B and Ansar al-Sharia in Darnah (AAS-D) were involved in the attack on the US Special Mission and Annex in Benghazi in September 2012 that resulted in the death of the US Ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. In October 2012, AAS-B and AAS-D merged and became Ansar al-Sharia in Libya (AAS-L) to try to improve their public image amid domestic and international condemnation for their roles in the attack.
At its peak in 2013, AAS-L held Libyan territory and operated branches in Ajdabiya, Benghazi, Darnah, Nawfalia, and Sirte, promoting charitable work to gain popular support from local communities. In 2014, AAS-B elements of AAS-L began fighting against the Libyan National Army (LNA). By 2016, these AAS-B elements had lost most of their territory and suffered heavy casualties, yet they continued fighting the LNA in Benghazi and ran camps, where they trained terrorists operating in Syria, Iraq, and Mali. In May 2017, AAS-L announced its dissolution, blaming battle losses and defections to its rival, ISIS-Libya. We have not observed further terrorist attacks from AAS-B elements since that time.
OPERATING AREA
Eastern Libya, mostly in Benghazi and Darnah
MEMBERS
Unknown
TACTICS AND TARGETS
AAS-L groups employed small arms, rockets, mortars, antitank guided missiles, antiaircraft artillery and missiles, IEDs, suicide bombings, and assassinations. They targeted foreigners—including the assassination in 2013 of an American teacher in Benghazi and the attack in 2012 against the US Special Mission and Annex in Benghazi—as well as civilians, security officials, and politicians in eastern Libya.
FOREIGN TERRORIST GROUP DESIGNATION
The US State Department designated AAS-B as a foreign terrorist organization on 13 January 2014.
KEY LEADERS
Abu Khalid al-Madani
AAS-L and AAS-B leader (2015-2017)
Mohammad al-Zahawi
AAS-L and AAS-B leader (2012-2015)
Abu Sufyan bin Qumu
AAS-L member and AAS-D leader (2012-2014); designated in January 2014 by US Department of State as a Global Terrorist
NOTABLE ATTACKS
8 February 2016
Darnah, Libya
AAS-L fighters shoot down a Libyan jet using antiaircraft guns.
26 June 2015
Sousse, Tunisia
An AAS-L–trained gunman kills 38 tourists, many from Europe, on a beach.
30 July 2014
Benghazi, Libya
AAS-L seizes Benghazi and declares the city an “Islamic Emirate,” resulting in more than 60 deaths.
5 December 2013
Benghazi, Libya
Suspected AAS-L militants fatally shoot an American teacher in Benghazi.
11 September 2012
Benghazi, Libya
Elements of AAS-B and AAS-D attack the US Special Mission and Annex in Benghazi, resulting in the deaths of the US Ambassador and three other Americans and 10 people injured.