October 15, 2013 | Quote
Benghazi’s Al Qaeda Connection
The U.S. government is now acknowledging, at least indirectly, a significant al Qaeda connection to the 9-11 anniversary attacks on the U.S. mission and CIA station in Benghazi.
On Monday, the State Department designated the Mohammed Jamal Network (MJN) and its founder, Mohammed Jamal as terrorists. The Wall Street Journal first reported on October 1, 2012 that fighters affiliated with MJN participated in the Benghazi attacks. The Daily Beast and other news outlets have since confirmed the report.
Seth Jones, the associate director for the international security and defense policy center at the RAND Corporation, told the Daily Beast, “There was at least one member and may have been more members from the Mohammed Jamal network on the compound for the attack on Benghazi along with members of Ansar al-Sharia and members of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.”
The designation released Monday from the State Department does not mention the network’s role in Benghazi. It does state that Jamal has been in close contact with al Qaeda leaders since he traveled to Afghanistan in the late 1980s. When Jamal returned to Egypt in the early 1990s he became the operational commander for Egyptian Islamic Jihad. At the time the group was led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is currently the leader of al Qaeda.
Jamal’s relationship with al-Zawahiri continued until at least 2012. When he was arrested, Egyptian authorities found correspondence with the al Qaeda leader on Jamal'ss laptop computer. The designation says in this correspondence “Jamal asked for assistance and described MJN’s activities, including acquiring weapons, conducting terrorist training, and establishing terrorist groups in the Sinai.” The contents of the seized laptop was first reported by an Egyptian newspaper and later confirmed and published by the Long War Journal, a website that closely monitors U.S. counter-terrorism activities.