MADRID — The death of Abu Laith al Libi, a Libyan Al Qaeda chief, has cast a spotlight on the rise of Libyan militants in a network dominated by Egyptians and Saudis, Western anti-terrorism investigators say.
Al Libi was killed last week in an American missile strike on a hide-out in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan, officials say. In addition to overseeing a paramilitary campaign in Afghanistan, Al Libi had become a top figure in a propaganda barrage on the Internet, according to experts.
The emergence of the Libyans, traditionally a strong but low-profile group, is a result of developments on three fronts: Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although Al Qaeda has suffered setbacks in Iraq, Libyan militants there have proved resilient and adept at moving fighters into combat, experts say. Libyans have become the second-biggest foreign insurgent contingent in Iraq after the Saudis, according to a U.S. military analysis of seized documents.
Al Qaeda's leaders in Pakistan have rewarded the Libyans with increased power and media presence, experts say.
"There is a rising leadership cadre of Libyans in Al Qaeda," said J. Vahid Brown, an analyst at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. "Egyptians have really dominated strategic and military operations. The Egyptians are good at keeping control of that, because many of them have military training. Now you have Libyan faces appearing in videos."
Al Qaeda's chief, Osama bin Laden, is a Saudi, and his deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, is Egyptian. Their dominance has made Egyptians, especially, and Gulf Arabs the organization's most powerful players.
Western investigators say Al Qaeda's structure is paradoxically fluid and bureaucratic at the same time. The multiethnic alliance survives by evolving on the run, but it also has a penchant for titles, budgets and paperwork.
"What is curious about Al Qaeda is the contradictory nature of the organization," said a senior British anti- terrorism official. "It is curiously bureaucratic."
And the network has its share of infighting.
Some rifts have been ideological, such as a debate over Bin Laden's decision to launch the Sept. 11 attacks and the crushing retaliation it provoked. In addition, conflicts have resulted from resentment of the Egyptians as well as tensions between Arabs and Central Asians, experts said.
