Experts mull significance of Benghazi funeral attack

Aya Ezz

Terrorists attacked the funeral procession of Gen. Khalifa al-Mesmari, the former commander of the Libyan special combat troops, on Thursday. Mesmari died two days ago.

Terrorists blew up a booby-trapped vehicle at the al-Hawari Tomb in Benghazi, leaving five security personnel dead and 25 other people injured.

National Libyan Army Spokesman Gen. Ahmed al-Mesmari held Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responsible for the attack.

Turkey, he said, sponsors terrorism in the region, especially In Libya.

He added that Turkey had contributed to the entry of a huge amount of arms to terrorist groups in Libya in the past months.

“Ankara also backs the Fayez al-Sarraj government,” Mesmari said.

He revealed that Thursday’s bombing took place only five minutes after he and other Libyan National Army commanders entered the al-Hawari Tomb.

Mesmari added that another blast occurred after the first one, increasing the toll from the attack.

“The attack was well calculated,” Mesmari said. “They aimed to cause the largest human toll with mourners getting out of the tomb.”

He noted that National Libyan Army Commander Gen. Khalifa Haftar had ordered an investigation into the attack to determine those responsible for it.

Lieutenant General Khalid Mahgoub said the terrorist groups that staged the attack only wanted to prove that they are still present.

“The attack also comes as the campaign by the National Libyan Army for the liberation of Tripoli draws to a close,” he said.

None of the major terrorist groups active in Libya declared responsibility for the attack. Nonetheless, the attack followed the modus operandi of al- Qaeda. Al-Qaeda is most conversant with the use of booby-trapped vehicles. Benghazi also used to be a stronghold of al-Qaeda.

The attack came only a few months after the handover by the National Libyan Army of Hesham Ashmawi, a senior Egyptian terrorist, to Egyptian authorities. It looked as if it was made in retaliation for Ashmawi’s handover.

Libyan political analyst Magdi Ismail said al-Qaeda had most likely carried out the attack.

“Al-Qaeda lost a lot of ground for ISIS in the past months,” Ismail told The Reference. “This is why it is trying to regain its old strengths now.”

Hesham al-Najjar, another specialist in Islamist affairs, said both al-Qaeda and ISIS serve the Qatari and Turkish agendas in Libya.

“The attack only proves that militias continue to have presence in Benghazi,” he said.

He said the attack also sought to sap the morale of the National Libyan army and cast doubts on its victories.