Abu Talha al-Liby
Abu Talha al-Liby | |
|---|---|
| Commander of the Hassouna Shura Council | |
| In office 2016 – January 18, 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Abdel-Moneim Salem Khalifa al-Hassnawi |
| Died | January 18, 2019 al-Qarda al-Shati, Libya |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Al-Nusra Front (2013–2014)
|
Abdel-Moneim Salem Khalifa al-Hassnawi[1], also known as Abu Talha[1] or Abu Talha al-Liby, was a Libyan militant and jihadist.
Biography
al-Liby was born in Sebha at an unknown date.[2] He is part of the Hassouna tribe, a prominent Arab tribe in southern Libya's Fezzan region.[1] He was arrested in 1996 for attempting to assassinate Muammar Gaddafi.[3] He was imprisoned until 2011.[3]
In 2013, al-Liby left Libya to go to Syria, where he was a co-founder of the Al-Nusra Front.[2][3] He became the legal advisor to the Muhajirun Brigade.[2] In 2014, he returned to Libya with his Syrian wife.[2] In 2016, he founded the Hassouna Shura Council to fight against the Libyan National Army.[1] He is known to have strong connections with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its former leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar.[1] He traveled around southern Libya looking for funds and weapons for his group, but found little support.[2]
On January 18, 2019, the Libyan National Army claimed to have killed al-Liby, who they accused of being an AQIM militant, in an airstrike on al-Qarda al-Shati, near Sebha.[4] Several other jihadists, including the Egyptian Abdullah al-Desouki and the Libyan al-Mahdi Dangou, who had links to the Islamic State.[4] In December 2020, NATO reported that they had no knowledge of al-Liby's activities or whereabouts, including if he died.[1] However, they said if he had been killed in 2019, he was likely replaced by another radical member of the Hassouna tribe.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "TERRORIST AND ARMED GROUPS IN THE FEZZAN-SAHEL REGION: RECRUITMENT AND COMMUNICATION TACTICS" (PDF). NATO Stratcom. December 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Libye: Abu Talha al-Liby, chef d'Aqmi, tué dans le sud du pays". RFI (in French). 2019-01-19. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
- 1 2 3 "Al-Qaeda leader killed in operation in southern Libya". Arab News. 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
- 1 2 al-Warfalli, Ayman (January 18, 2019). "Eastern Libyan force says it killed senior al Qaeda operative". Reuters. Retrieved May 19, 2026.