Despite a $5 million reward, Abu Anas al-Libi, the reputed al Qaeda leader snatched off the streets of Tripoli by U.S. commandos, made high-profile appearances in Libya in the last two years, enjoying the adulation of crowds, public honors and renewed stature for his role in helping topple dictator Moammar Gadhafi, according to U.S. officials and photos obtained by NBC News.
Al-Libi, 49, who was indicted in 2000 in connection with the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa two years earlier, was not maintaining a low profile in Tripoli despite the charges against him and the reward, according to the U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He's been out in public participating as if he had immunity," said one
The images, found on al Qaeda web forums by the security firm Flashpoint Intelligence and provided NBC News, show al-Libi receiving an honor from an Islamic group on a street in Tripoli, surrounded by well-wishers.
The photographs first appeared Sunday -- the day after his capture -- in a Libyan media outlet, Libyan Political Dialogue. The account identified him as “al-Libi” -- his al Qaeda nom de guerre -- not his birth name, Nazih Abdul Hamed Al-Raghie.
It described the event as a "celebration honoring Abu Anas al-Libi based on his participation in the Libyan uprising and the death of his son in it." Al-Libi's son, Abdel Rahman, died in the rebels' final assault on Tripoli in 2011, say U.S. officials.
U.S. officials say that in the final days of the Libyan uprising, al-Libi returned to Tripoli and added his voice to calls for the overthrow of the Gadhafi regime and encouraged his son to join the rebels.
Al-Libi, who was snatched by U.S. commandos outside his home in Tripoli on Oct. 5, is undergoing questioning aboard a U.S. Navy warship in the Mediterranean Sea.
The images, the first known photos of him since 2000, are not dated but are believed to have been taken last year. They show al-Libi accepting the honor and speaking to the crowd, flanked by a large Libyan flag. A U.S. official said it's uncertain whether the event was sponsored by the Libyan government, but the crowd around him appears to show Libyan militia members and locals.
The U.S. helped the rebels topple Gadhafi, but concern has been growing in Washington about the post-Gadhafi era and the Libyan government’s inability to tamp down Islamist sentiment and operations, such as the assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
Evan Kohlmann, a senior partner with Flashpoint Intelligence and an NBC News analyst, said that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement had noticed not just the "celebration" but other appearances a- Libi has made in recent months, leading to a belief he continues to command respect among radical Islamists.
http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_...as-hardly-lying-low-in-libya-photos-show?lite
Al-Libi, 49, who was indicted in 2000 in connection with the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa two years earlier, was not maintaining a low profile in Tripoli despite the charges against him and the reward, according to the U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He's been out in public participating as if he had immunity," said one
The images, found on al Qaeda web forums by the security firm Flashpoint Intelligence and provided NBC News, show al-Libi receiving an honor from an Islamic group on a street in Tripoli, surrounded by well-wishers.
The photographs first appeared Sunday -- the day after his capture -- in a Libyan media outlet, Libyan Political Dialogue. The account identified him as “al-Libi” -- his al Qaeda nom de guerre -- not his birth name, Nazih Abdul Hamed Al-Raghie.
It described the event as a "celebration honoring Abu Anas al-Libi based on his participation in the Libyan uprising and the death of his son in it." Al-Libi's son, Abdel Rahman, died in the rebels' final assault on Tripoli in 2011, say U.S. officials.
U.S. officials say that in the final days of the Libyan uprising, al-Libi returned to Tripoli and added his voice to calls for the overthrow of the Gadhafi regime and encouraged his son to join the rebels.
Al-Libi, who was snatched by U.S. commandos outside his home in Tripoli on Oct. 5, is undergoing questioning aboard a U.S. Navy warship in the Mediterranean Sea.
The images, the first known photos of him since 2000, are not dated but are believed to have been taken last year. They show al-Libi accepting the honor and speaking to the crowd, flanked by a large Libyan flag. A U.S. official said it's uncertain whether the event was sponsored by the Libyan government, but the crowd around him appears to show Libyan militia members and locals.
The U.S. helped the rebels topple Gadhafi, but concern has been growing in Washington about the post-Gadhafi era and the Libyan government’s inability to tamp down Islamist sentiment and operations, such as the assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
Evan Kohlmann, a senior partner with Flashpoint Intelligence and an NBC News analyst, said that U.S. intelligence and law enforcement had noticed not just the "celebration" but other appearances a- Libi has made in recent months, leading to a belief he continues to command respect among radical Islamists.
http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_...as-hardly-lying-low-in-libya-photos-show?lite