[Atlas News] On July 11, Libyan al-Qaeda terrorist Ziad Balaam was briefly detained by authorities in Turkey, where he was originally slated to be deported to Libyan National Army (LNA) controlled Benghazi to face trial.
It appears, however, that Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh has ordered him to be deported to Tripoli, which is under the control of the UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNU), according to journalist Adam Housley and former CIA targeter Sarah Adams. Balaam is said to be in custody of the RADA Special Deterrence Forces, according to Atlas News sources. Currently, the GNU has not signaled any intent to charge Balaam, who is a leader among groups allied to the GNU, raising fears he may be released.
Ziad Balaam, whose full name is Farid Mohammad Muhammed Balaam, has been a career jihadist with decades of affiliation with al-Qaeda. In 2002, Balaam was sentenced to life in Libyan prison for his involvement with the terror organization in Sudan, but was broken out of prison amidst the outbreak of the Libyan Civil War. From there, he joined the al-Qaeda-affiliated Omar Mokhtar Brigade, part of the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council and led by al-Qaeda’s Abdel Moneim al-Madhouni, which fought to resist LNA forces under Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar. Following al-Madhouni’s death, Balaam joined al-Qaeda’s Malik Brigade under Ansar al-Sharia, where he played a key role in the 2012 Benghazi attacks against a United States’ diplomatic compound and CIA annex, which left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, Foreign Service officer Sean Smith, and CIA Global Response Staff Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.
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