Islamic State in Libya and Implications for Tunisia & Algeria
By now everyone knows about (but should not watch) the Islamic State (IS) video showing the murders of 21 Egyptian Copts. IS’s presence in Libya was already widely recognized by Libya analysts, but the Copts’ gruesome murder has made IS’s Libyan presence known to a much wider audience – which was precisely what the video was supposed to do. Nonetheless, there are significant differences between the Libyan operating environment and IS’s area of operations in Iraq and Syria. In fact, these differences may serve to amplify IS’s capabilities in Libya and make it appear to be a larger threat than it actually is. For the business environment, Libya has sadly ceased to matter, but IS’s emergence in Libya has important implications for Tunisia and Algeria.
