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Al-Liby, Anas (1964– )———15

secular Egyptian government and replace it with an 1999, Egyptian courts conducted a large-scale trial
Islamic state. Al Jihad members assassinated Egyptian of 107 terror suspects, largely Al Jihad members.
president Anwar Sadat. According to the U.S. State Department, Al Jihad’s
Al Jihad developed into a powerful force in the exact strength is unknown, but it is likely to have
1980s, specializing in armed attacks against high- several hundred hard-core members.
level members of the Egyptian government. During
See also AL QAEDA; AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI; OSAMA BIN LADEN
a military parade in November 1981, members dis-
guised themselves as soldiers; after surrounding
Sadat, they shot and killed him in front of Egyptian Further Reading
television cameras. Bergen, Peter L. Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of
Al Jihad also claimed responsibility for the foiled Osama bin Laden. New York: Free Press, 2001.
assassination attempts on Interior Minister Hassan “A Nation Challenged: The Hunted; The 22 Most Wanted
al-Alfi in August 1993 and Prime Minister Atef Sedky Suspects, in a Five-Act Drama of Global Terror.”
New York Times, October 14, 2001, 1B.
in November 1993. Unlike the Egyptian extremist
Sachs, Susan. “An Investigation in Egypt Illustrates al
group Gama’a al Islamiyya, Al Jihad has never targeted
Qa’ida’s Web.” New York Times, November 21, 2001, A1.
foreign tourists in Egypt.
U.S. District Court Southern District of New York. United
As a consequence of these attacks, Egyptian secu-
States v. Usama bin Laden et al. Indictment S(10) 98
rity forces began to crack down on fundamentalists. Cr. 1023 (LBS).
Despite international protests, officials held suspects U.S. State Department. “Appendix B: Background Infor-
without trial and used torture during interrogation. In mation on Terrorist Groups.” Patterns of Global
response, many Al Jihad members fled the country. Terrorism—2000. Released by the Office of the
According to the U.S. State Department, Al Jihad Coordinator for Counterterrorism, April 30, 2001. http://
has not carried out an attack inside Egypt since 1993, www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2000/2450.htm.
preferring to work outside that country. In 1995, Al
Jihad bombed the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad,
Pakistan, killing 17. Three years later, the group AL-LIBY, ANAS (1964– )
planned an attack, which was foiled, against the U.S.
embassy in Albania. aka Anas al-Sabai, Anas al-Libi, Nazih
During the 1990s, Al Jihad divided into two fac- al-Raghie, Nazih Abdul Hamed al-Raghie
tions: the first and perhaps less notorious faction is
led by Abbud al-Aumar, an original Jihad leader Anas al-Liby, born in Tripoli, Libya, is often
currently imprisoned in Egypt; the second is led by described as the computer wizard of Osama bin
Egyptian physician Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden’s Laden’s Al Qaeda network. He was indicted in
close adviser. One of Al Jihad’s founding members, December 2000 for conspiring to kill Americans in
al-Zawahiri met bin Laden during the Afghan guer- the East African embassy attacks in 1998. Al-Liby has
rilla war against the Soviet Union. Al-Zawahiri is also been linked to the Libyan Islamic Group, the
said to have influenced the Al Qaeda network’s grow- militant anti-Qaddafi organization.
ing anti-Americanism and is suspected of having Al Qaeda, an international terror network that is
been instrumental in planning the attacks on the widely believed to have carried out the September
World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Al Jihad and Al Qaeda announced a merger in Pentagon, has also worked against non-Islamic gov-
1998, saying that they had formed the World Islamic ernments in the Middle East. However, the extent
Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders. After of al-Liby’s recent involvement with Al Qaeda is
al-Zawahiri merged his faction of Al Jihad with unclear. Testimony in the East African embassy
Al Qaeda, many of his members became known as bombings trial suggested that al-Liby quarreled with
bin Laden’s foot soldiers. Egyptian authorities have bin Laden over financial matters and split with him
accused Al Jihad members of providing tactical during the late 1990s. The U.S. indictment charges
support to Al Qaeda—for example, forging documents that al-Liby discussed the possibility of an attack on
and transferring money. the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, with coconspir-
Worldwide, many Al Jihad operatives have been ator Ali Mohamed in 1993. Mohamed, who cooper-
arrested—most recently in Lebanon and Yemen. In ated with U.S. prosecutors, described al-Liby’s