29 January 2015
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- Tug-of-war among Islamists behind Libya Hotel Attack: Experts
CAIRO – A bitter tug-of-war between Islamists vying for power and influence was behind this week’s deadly assault on a top Libyan hotel that was claimed by the Islamic State group, experts say.
Gunmen on Tuesday stormed the luxurious Corinthia Hotel – popular with world leaders and diplomats – killing nine people including an American, a French citizen, a South Korean and two Filipinas before blowing themselves up.
The attack on such a high-profile target in the heart of Tripoli underscored the fragile security situation in the capital, which is controlled by a patchwork of militias allied with one of the two governments claiming to rule Libya.
…”Who carried out the attack remains an open question. I would assume the incident was a domestically driven one,” James Dorsey, a senior fellow at Singapore-based S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told AFP.
RSIS / Online
Last updated on 30/01/2015