The Financial Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Mohamed Eljarh on the influence that the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham has had on Libyan militia groups:
Jihadis are emerging as a third force. According to Mohamed Eljarh, a Libyan scholar and fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Middle East centre, the city of Derna is run by a collection of jihadi militias. They include Ansar al-Sharia, the Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade, the Sahara Brigade – which counts jihadis who fought in Syria among its members – and the Islamic Army, some units of which have sworn allegiance to Isis.
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“You have people saying, ‘we don’t like being called Ansar al-Sharia but we don’t mind fighting alongside them’,” said Mr Eljarh. “You could say they have a similar agenda as Ansar al-Sharia.”