(JNi.media) As the ISIS movement spreads across the Arab world, whole regions are transported back to the 7th century. The most notable aspect of this Islamic takeover are not so much the peace, charity and justice Muslim apologists would have you believe, but the familiar sight of people in orange garb kneeling in rows before the executioner. And as the executioner beheads them with a four-foot scimitar, the crowd screams “Allahu Akhbar,” pushing forward for a better view.
This week, a Libyan named Haaji Mohammed told The Telegraph’s Colin Freeman, pointing to the older of the two convicts, one Said Jabr, “I know that man personally, he is not a witch, he is just an alternative healer who does homeopathy and acupuncture. He was wrongly accused.”
This is the new face of Islamist Libya, looking identical to the face of Islamist Iraq and Syria. Starting in 2014, taking advantage of the chaos that followed the US-inspired ousting and killing of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, and the declining Western interest in the country, a very small group of well organized ISIS fighters—even today they are estimated at fewer than 5,000—are taking over wherever they can, brutalizing local civilians into submission, and declaring each newly acquired area part of the caliphate.
According to the NY Times, US counter-terrorism officials regard the Libyan branch as the Islamic State’s most dangerous affiliate, one that is expanding its territory and continuing to mount deadly attacks, including several this month. That’s problem number one. Problem number two is that in order to stop the ISIS advance in Libya and the rest of North Africa—which is a short boat ride from southern Europe—the US and its European allies have been courting unreliable allies from among some sketchy Libyan militias who are poorly organized and hopelessly tribal.
ISIS hopes to use Libyan ports to cross the Mediterranean posing as migrants and the wreak havoc on mainland Europe. Libyan Leaders have warned that IS will use its access to smuggling networks and ports to traffic fighters into Europe. In fact, on July 6, France’s Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned that Libya was a perfect launch pad for ISIS to attack Europe.
“The worrisome thing is if ISIS central decides to pivot and pour more resources in, it could be worse,” Frederic Wehrey, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told USA Today.
“Libya is probably right now the most significant threat to becoming a full-blown sanctuary” for the Islamic State, said Patrick Johnston, a counter-terrorism analyst at RAND Corp.
ISIS in Libya says it has taken over partially or completely the cities of al Bayda, Benghazi, Sirte, al-Khums, and even the Libyan capital Tripoli. It also has large facilities in the Jebel Akhdar area, where fighters from other countries in North Africa are coming to be trained.