Ali Awni al-Harzi

Ali Awni al-Harzi was a U.S.- and U.N.-designated recruiter and facilitator for Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia (AST), and a battlefield commander for ISIS“Terrorist Designation of Ali Ouni Harzi,” U.S. Department of State, April 14, 2015, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/04/240667.htm; Luis Martinez, “Key Suspect in Benghazi Attack Killed in US Airstrike in Iraq,” ABC News, June 22, 2015, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/key-suspect-benghazi-attack-killed-us-airstrike-iraq/story?id=31953157. According to the U.S. State Department, al-Harzi was instrumental in smuggling weapons and explosives into Tunisia and facilitating the travel of AST fighters to Syria.“Terrorist Designation of Ali Ouni Harzi,” U.S. Department of State, April 14, 2015, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/04/240667.htm. Tunisian authorities linked al-Harzi to the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, as well as the 2013 assassinations of two secular Tunisian politicians, Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi.Thomas Joscelyn, “Benghazi suspect designated by UN, State Department,” Long War Journal, April 15, 2015, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/04/benghazi-suspect-designated-by-un-state-department.php. According to the United Nations, he “planned and perpetrated” the 2012 Benghazi attack.“Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Adds Two Names to Its Sanctions List,” United Nations, April 10, 2015, http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc11856.doc.htm.

In June 2015, a U.S. airstrike targeted and killed al-Harzi in Mosul, Iraq. Using another acronym for ISIS, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said, “Al-Harzi operated closely with multiple ISIL-associated extremists throughout North Africa and the Middle East. His death degrades ISIL’s ability to integrate North African jihadists into the Syrian and Iraqi fight and removes a jihadist with long ties to international terrorism.”“Key Suspect in Benghazi Attack Killed in US Airstrike in Iraq,” ABC News, June 22, 2015, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/key-suspect-benghazi-attack-killed-us-airstrike-iraq/story?id=31953157.

Also Known As

Extremist entity
Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia (AST)
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Type(s) of Organization:
Insurgent, non-state actor, religious, social services provider, terrorist, transnational, violent
Ideologies and Affiliations:
ISIS–affiliated group, Islamist, jihadist, Qutbist, Salafist, Sunni, takfiri
Position(s):
Recruiter, facilitator

Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia (AST) was a Salafist group that was prominent in Tunisia from 2011 to 2013. The group has initiated several violent protests, including the September 2012 attack on the U.S. embassy in Tunis. 

Extremist entity
ISIS
Read Threat Report
Type(s) of Organization:
Insurgent, territory-controlling, terrorist, violent
Ideologies and Affiliations:
Islamist, jihadist, Pan-Islamist, Salafist, takfiri
Position(s):
Facilitator, battlefield commander

Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia (AST) was a Salafist group that was prominent in Tunisia from 2011 to 2013. The group has initiated several violent protests, including the September 2012 attack on the U.S. embassy in Tunis. 

  • Designations

United Nations

  • April 10, 2015

    The U.N. added “Ali Ben Taher Ben Faleh Ouni Harzi” to its Al-Qaida Sanctions List of individuals and entities on April 10, 2015.“Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Adds Two Names to Its Sanctions List,” United Nations, April 10, 2015, http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc11856.doc.htm.

United States

  • April 14, 2015

    The U.S. Department of State designated “Ali Ouni Harzi” as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on April 14, 2015.“Terrorist Designation of Ali Ouni Harzi,” U.S. Department of State, April 14, 2015, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/04/240667.htm.

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Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.

Fact:

On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers. 

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