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| Africa North |
| Reports of attack on home of Ansar Al-Sharia leader in Derna denied |
| 2014-02-24 |
| [Libya Herald] Local residents in Derna have denied reports of an RPG attack on the home of former Guantanamo Bay detainee and alleged leader of Ansar Al-Sharia Sufian Bin Qumu. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a local source told the Libya Herald that, while there had been sporadic fighting last night near the western entrance to Derna where Bin Qumu lives, there had been no direct attack on his home. He added that there had been no reported casualties in the fighting. Derna-born Bin Qumu was held in Guantanamo Bay for six years. In his secret Guantanamo file, which surfaced via Wikileaks in 2011, Bin Qumu was assessed as: "A former member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a probable member of Al-Qaeda, and a member of the North African Extremist Network (NAEN)." The report also stated that the Libyan Government itself considered him to be a "dangerous man with no qualms about committing terrorist acts." Bin Qumu was released from Guantanamo in 2007, on condition that he continued to be detained by the Libyan authorities. In 2010, however, he was released from Abu Salim prison as part of an amnesty for anti-regime prisoners. During the revolution he was a prominent figure within Ansar Al-Sharia in Derna. |
| Posted by:Fred |