Ansar al-Sharia chief threatens Tunisia

[AFP/Fethi Belaid] Abou Iyadh urged supporters to stand firm in a recent Facebook post.

The head of Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia on Sunday (May 12th) threatened to wage "war" against the government.

"To the tyrants who think they are Islamists... know that the stupid things you are doing are dragging you to war," AFP quoted the statement from Abou Iyadh (real name Seif Allah Ibn Hussein) as saying.

The Abou Iyadh statement was posted on Ansar al-Sharia's Facebook page after Tunisian authorities moved to crack down on salafist activity in the wake of skirmishes with al-Qaeda militants along the Algerian border.

Clashes broke out between security forces and salafists in some poor neighbourhoods near the capital after the authorities prevented the salafists from setting up preaching tents and from delivering sermons.

Sami Essid, one of the leaders of Ansar al-Sharia, condemned recent statements by Interior Minister Lotfi Bin Jeddou about banning preaching tents, charitable convoys and Qur'anic schools.

"He has declared war on Muslims in Tunisia," he said.

"The third annual congress of Ansar al-Sharia will be held in Kairouan again and opposite Uqba Ibn Nafi Mosque on Sunday (May 19th)," he confirmed.

"Abou Iyadh, a leader of Ansar al-Sharia who is wanted by the security forces, won't attend the third annual congress of the group," Essid added. "The only reason for that is that he loves Tunisia and doesn't want to confuse his supporters if he gets arrested by the security forces before them."

In his Sunday statement, Abou Iyadh said that Ansar al-Sharia's young people "would not hesitate to sacrifice for their religion in the land of Kairouan".

Ansar al-Sharia spokesperson Seifeddine Rais told Shems FM on Tuesday that the salafist group expects 30,000 to 40,000 people to attend its Kairouan congress.
(not the end)
Continue to read the full story at MAGHAREBIA site
By Yasmin Najjar and Jemal Arfaoui in Tunis for Magharebia – 14/05/2013

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Tunisian 'martyrs' celebrated by Ansar al Sharia

A poster honoring eight Tunisians who died fighting in Syria.

By Thomas Joscelyn - March 13, 2013 - LWJ

In early February, a video of an interview with Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's leader Seifallah ben Hassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi) was released online after it had been banned by government officials. Hassine, who is wanted for instigating the Sept. 14, 2012 assault on the US Embassy in Tunis, was asked about the migration of young Tunisians to the jihadist battlefields in Syria and Mali. He responded by discouraging the practice, saying Tunisia's Salafi jihadists were needed at home and that the wars abroad have "emptied Tunisia of its young."

A review of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's official Facebook page and other online sources tells a different story. Hassine's organization frequently celebrates the "martyrdom" of Tunisians, especially those who fought in Syria.

In Facebook entries posted this week, the group showcased Tunisians killed in Syria. And Ansar al Sharia's logos accompanied the young Tunisians' images, thereby indicating the organization's official seal of approval.

One post announces the death of a Tunisian who fought in Deir al Zour, a city located on the Euphrates River that the Al Nusrah Front is currently seeking to capture. The Facebook posting says that he fought for the Hamza Bin Abdul Muttalib Brigade.

Continue... & Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/03/in_early_february_a.php#ixzz2NVZ5LbKI

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Tunisia arrests Ansar al Sharia member in connection with US Embassy assault

By Thomas Joscelyn - November 9, 2012 - LWJ

Bilel Chaouachi. Courtesy of Kapitalis.

The Tunisian government arrested Bilel Chaouachi, a Salafist imam who has openly praised Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, earlier this week. Chaouachi was allegedly involved in the storming of the US Embassy in Tunis days after terrorists struck the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
"Bilel Chaouachi is suspected of involvement in the September 14 events of the attack on the embassy and the American school, but before that there is another case pending against him for incitement to violence," Tunisian Interior Ministry spokesman Khaled Tarrouche explained, according to Kapitalis.
The 26-year-old Chaouachi has been cited as a theology "student" in various press accounts because he attended a theological graduate school in Tunis. But Magharebia.com identifies him as a "a member of the salafist Ansar al Sharia group."
The rabblerousing Chaouachi has garnered more influence in recent months, culminating in a shocking appearance on Ettounsiya TV shortly before his arrest.
Salafists have clashed with the Ennahda government in recent weeks, leading to an escalation in violence. Chaouachi was unapologetic, however, claiming that the government was at fault. He also stunned viewers by openly praising al Qaeda's leaders.
"We, the jihadist salafist movement with our scholars and theoreticians headed by Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah have mercy on him, and Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri, may God protect him, say that this country is a land of preaching and not a land of war, even when it is not ruled according to Islamic law," Chaouachi said during his television appearance, according to Magharebia.com.
Tunisian officials maintain that Chaouachi's television appearance was not the reason for his arrest, with the Interior Ministry saying it was "a simple coincidence."
Chaouachi has advocated for jihad against Bashar al Assad's regime in Syria. "It is the duty of all Muslims to support the struggle of the Syrian people against despotism," the Associated Press quoted Chaouachi as saying earlier this year.
Chaouachi is not the only Ansar al Sharia member implicated in the storming of the US Embassy in Tunis.
The head of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia is Seifullah Ben Hassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyadh), who is also wanted in connection with the Sept. 14 assault. Hassine has longstanding ties to al Qaeda. In 2000, Hassine co-founded the Tunisian Combatant Group (TCG) "in coordination with" al Qaeda, according to the United Nations.
The TCG helped execute the Sept. 9, 2001 assassination of Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, who was killed by two Tunisians pretending to be journalists. Massoud's assassination was an integral part of al Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 plot, as it removed an influential adversary from the battlefield before American-led forces set foot inside Afghanistan.
Hassine formed a fighting group in late 2001 that was dedicated to defending Osama bin Laden at the Battle of Tora Bora. And the TCG was connected to several significant terrorist plots in Europe, including a planned attack on the US Embassy in Rome. [See LWJ report, Al Qaeda ally orchestrated assault on US Embassy in Tunisia.]

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/11/ansar_al_sharia_tuni.php#ixzz2BiZVZ2v7

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