6 June – 12 June: Derna Mujahadeen Shura Council religious ideologue and alleged al-Qaeda recruiter killed in Derna

Jun 12, 2018 | Other Jihadi Actors

On 9 May, one of the Derna Mujahadeen Shura Council’s key religious ideologues with alleged connections to al-Qaeda, Omar Refaair Sorour, was killed during a Libyan National Army (LNA) air strike on a residential area in downtown Derna. Sorour is thought to have been one of al-Qaeda’s top recruiter in Libya and was a key figure in the group’s plans to rebuild itself following the demise of ISIS. Sorour is said to be on one of Egypt’s most wanted terrorists in Libya with close ties to Hisham al-Ashmawy, a prominent Egyptian jihadist, and his death has been eulogized by significant al-Qaeda affiliated figures including Moroccan jihadi preacher Omar al-Haddouchi. The announcement of Sorour’s death coincided with reports that Abdulsalam al-Awami, the al-Qaeda Imam in Derna and prominent al-Qaeda leader, Sufian Bin Qammu, were also killed during LNA raids in Derna.