...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet...
An ISIS supporter recently endorsed the terror group on a global jihadist forum.
On July 23rd, the murderous Moslem urged ISIS followers to repost his comments on social networking websites, in order to push Ansar al-Sharia in Libya to swear allegiance to His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us...
Earlier this month, Abdelmalik Droukdel
... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the
Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb....
's al-Qaeda subsidiary refused to recognise the self-proclaimed caliphate and instead renewed allegiance to the parent organization led by Ayman al-
Zawahiri... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as
the real brains of the outfit.Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is...
Without AQIM, Al-Baghdadi and his group are desperate for friends. To their view Ansar al-Sharia in Libya is key for taking control over the Maghreb and Egypt.
According to Abdellah Rami, an expert on jihadist movements, AQIM's refusal to recognise al-Baghdadi's group kept ISIS from claiming the key position in the parent terror organization.
"The success or failure of the ISIS project hinges on the positions of three key jihadist organizations in the world: al-Qaeda in Yemen, AQIM and Ansar al-Sharia in Libya," Rami said. "Without the allegiance of those groups, the caliphate project will just be ink on paper and will be a local organization confined to Iraq's borders."
"However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
this doesn't mean that the caliphate state doesn't have supporters in those areas," Rami told Magharebia. "There are dozens of small groups and terrorist cells that have already sworn allegiance to ISIS in those countries, and there are hundreds of lone wolves that ISIS has already attracted. Therefore, al-Baghdadi can use those at any moment to carry out terrorist operations and destabilise regional countries."
Moroccan researcher Mouhcine Abdelwahed said: "Just because AQIM, Ansar al-Sharia or other terrorist groups don't swear allegiance to al-Baghdadi, it will not make them any less dangerous or less harmful to societies."
"Maghreb stability and security are now threatened in a way that requires swift, decisive intervention from the international community, before it is too late," he told Magharebia.
The recent violence in Tunisia and Libya demonstrates the threat to the region, he noted.
The Uqba Ibn Nafaa brigade that grabbed credit for the Jebel Chaambi attack that killed 15 Tunisian troops "has extensions under the same name in Syria", while Libya festivities "are becoming fiercer with the return of Libya's al-Battar brigade from Syria to join Ansar al-Sharia", he said.
Tunisia and Libya attacks "are prototypes for future operations in North Africa", he said, "which will undermine the region's stability and security and wreak havoc if the international community doesn't act quickly".
"Terrorism will always be terrorism, regardless of the banner or name it is using to operate," he added.