Ismail Muhammad al-Salabi

Ismail Muhammed al-Salabi is the leader of the Rafallah al-Sahati Brigade. This article is mostly based on a report from June 2016

Family
Al-Salabi’s father is believed to be a founder of the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood in the 1960s, while his brother is alleged to have strong Qatari ties and to be one of the most prominent thought-leaders in the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood, as well as within the broader Islamist movement in eastern Libya.

Early life
al-Salabi was born around 1977 in the Barga suburb in Benghazi, Libya

Imprisonment
In 1997, al-Salabi was imprisoned for participating in a Benghazi-based clandestine network that provided shelter for Libyan Islamist dissidents, including those from the al-Qaeda linked Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). He was sentenced to six years in the notorious Abu Salim prison. He said that while in prison, he became an Islamist activist and met and became close friends with two brothers of Abd al-Hakim Belhadj, one of the most prominent Libyan jihadists that fought in Afghanistan and an important LIFG commander before the 2011 Libyan civil war.

Role in the Libyan Civil War
After the outbreak of the revolution against the Gaddafi government in February 2011, al-Salabi became a commander in the Benghazi area’s powerful February 17 Brigade. He later helped mobilize the Rafallah al-Sahati Brigade from fighters that belonged to the February 17 Brigade. The Rafallah al-Sahati Brigade, which is named after a prominent Benghazi-area militant Salafist martyr, is estimated to number between 1,000 and 2,000 fighters and believed to be a primary recipient of Qatari financial and military support since 2011. The armed group under al-Salabi’s leadership networks aligns closely with other militant Salafist organizations and has maintained close and continuing ties with the al-Qaeda affiliate Ansar al-Sharia. Al-Salabi has positioned the Rafallah al-Sahati Brigade in opposition to the Tobruk-based House of Representatives government. As a result, the armed organization has been involved in fierce clashes in and around Benghazi with forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar.