Al Qaeda's Possible Ties to the Benghazi Attack

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on Sept. 27 blamed terrorists for the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. Panetta said it is unclear whether al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, al Qaeda's North African franchise, is the jihadist group responsible. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had tied AQIM to the attack one day earlier. Clinton later echoed calls by French President Francois Hollande for the U.N. Security Council to back West African-led military assistance in northern Mali, where the jihadist group has long been active.

There is no precedent for AQIM operations in Libya, but the group does have historical ties to Libyan jihadists. Moreover, Libyan President Mohamed Magarief said Sept. 16 that several Malians and Algerians with links to AQIM were among the 50 men arrested recently on suspicion of involvement in the Benghazi attack. Overall, several factors, including constraints faced by the group in its native Algeria and the vacuum of authority in eastern Libya, make AQIM links — as well as the broader dynamic of militant Islamism in North Africa — worth exploring.