ISN 557 | Name Abu bin | |
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Charge(s) No charge (held in extrajudicial detention) Status Repatriated to Libyan custody; became a rebel commander in the Libyan civil war, founded a branch of the Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group Died April 14, 2013, Darnah, Libya People also search for Mohammed Ahmed Salam | ||
Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda Bin Qumu (Arabic: أبو سفيان إبراهيم أحمد حمودة بن قمو, born 26 June 1959) is a citizen of Libya who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Joint Task Force Guantanamo counter-terrorism analysts report he was born on 26 June 1959, in Derna, Libya.
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Bin Qumu was transferred to Libya on 28 September 2007. In 2011 he was the leader of a band of fighters in his hometown of Derna during the 2011 Libyan civil war. After the war he led the miliant Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia's Derna branch.
Prior History
A disclosed file from 2005 on WikiLeaks alleged that he served as a tank driver in the Libyan army. He later allegedly traveled to Afghanistan and trained in Bin Laden's Torkham Camp. After fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, he allegedly worked as a truck driver for Wadi Al-'Aqiq, one of Bin Laden's companies in Suba, Sudan. He later joined the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, joined the Taliban in 1998, and he was a "probable member of Al Qaida and a member of the African Extremist Network."
Repatriation and release
Bin Qumu was reported to have been released in October 2007. He was transferred to Libya on 28 September 2007 and was released from Abu Salim prison in 2010 following an amnesty for political prisoners.
Libyan Civil War
In 2011 Bin Qumu became the leader of a band of fighters in his hometown of Derna called Ansar al-Sharia during the 2011 Libyan civil war.
Fox News reported Bin Qumu as possibly being involved with and may have led the 11 September 2012 attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya that resulted in the murder of four US Diplomats including US Ambassador Chris Stevens. In September 2012, a US national security official stated to Mother Jones that "that report is wrong, there's no intelligence suggesting that he was leading the attack on the consulate that evening," but US officials have since confirmed that Bin Qumu was likely present and played a role in the attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi.
On 10 January 2014, the U.S. Department of State listed Bin Qumu as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.