The Long War Journal (Site-Wide) |
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Posted: 27 Jan 2015 11:26 AM PST
Gunmen stormed the Corinthia hotel
in Tripoli early this morning, killing at least five
foreigners and three guards, according to initial reports.
Foreign government officials, including those serving as diplomats, and
tourists have frequented the hotel in the past, making it an attractive
target for jihadists.
The terrorists responsible for the
raid reportedly met resistance from security forces. As of this writing,
however, the siege was not over.
The Associated Press reported
that a car bomb was part of the attack. Images posted online show what
appears to be an explosion outside of the hotel. Some of the photos have been
published on Good Morning Libya, a Twitter feed that is run by supporters of
General Khalifa Haftar, whose forces have been battling jihadists throughout
Libya. One of the photos can be seen at the beginning of this article. Online
jihadists are claiming that suicide bombers were used in the car bombing.
According to the SITE Intelligence
Group, the Islamic State's so-called "Tripoli Province" claimed
responsibility for the attack in a short message that was posted on Twitter.
The message stated that "heroes of the Caliphate" are responsible
for the operation, which has been named the "Battle of Abu Anas al
Libi."
An image published online by the
organization's media operatives can be seen to the right.
Al Libi was a core al Qaeda
operative who was captured in
Tripoli in early October 2013 and subsequently held in the US
for his role in al Qaeda's bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in
August 1998. Al Libi passed away while awaiting trial earlier this year, and
jihadists blame the US government for his death, even though he died of
natural causes.
Al Libi's capture in Tripoli by US
forces was denounced by many in Libya. By naming the attack after al Libi,
the Islamic State's "Tripoli Province" is attempting to capitalize
on the manufactured controversy surrounding his capture and death.
In some ways, the choice of name
for the attack is ironic. The Islamic State's "provinces" in Libya
and elsewhere are part of emir Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's attempt to build international
support for his caliphate, and the Islamic State's supporters are openly
confrontational toward al Qaeda. Indeed, the Islamic State's
"provinces" are intended to
draw support away from al Qaeda's international network of
official and unofficial branches.
However, al Libi was a loyal al
Qaeda operative. Documents recovered in
Osama bin Laden's compound show that Al Libi was appointed to
al Qaeda's security committee after he was released from Iranian custody in
2010. He sought permission from al Qaeda's most senior leaders before
relocating to his native Libya. They granted al Libi's request and he moved
back to Libya in 2011.
An unclassified report published
by the Library of Congress in August 2012 identified al
Libi as a key player in al Qaeda's strategy for building a
fully operational network in Libya.
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