Database: Identifiers of Designated Islamic Terrorist Organizations

Ansar al-Sharia (Libya)

Designated as terrorist by: United States (specifically Derna and Benghazi branches)

Base of operations: Libya

Background: U.S. Department of State
Background: Reuters

Ansar al-Sharia is a jihadi group that first emerged during the Libyan civil war and has since become a major militia power amid the chaos of the aftermath of Gaddafi's fall. It is particularly strong in Benghazi, where it is believed to have attacked the U.S. consulate in 2012, but also has networks in Derna, Tripoli, and other Libyan cities. Thriving off the corruption in Libya's system and weak government control, Ansar al-Sharia has been able to engage in outreach with locals and even send aid abroad to Syria, where a disproportionate number of Libyan fighters have joined the Islamic State. Though Ansar al-Sharia in Libya, like its Tunisian counterpart, at one point appeared to be pro-Islamic State, some of its members also joined Katiba al-Muhajireen, a foreign fighter group operating in Latakia that has been subsumed under Jabhat al-Nusra. With the expansion of the Islamic State into Libya at the expense of Ansar al-Sharia's influence, the affinity with al-Qaeda has become ever clearer.

Ansar al-Sharia (Libya) in Benghazi	Ansar al-Sharia (Libya) in Sirte	Ansar al-Sharia (Libya): Application of Islamic Law in Derna	Ansar al-Sharia -- Libya Emblem
Black Flag of Jihad (Sacred Seal Version)	Land of Islam- Sacred Seal Version