Libya a gateway to Europe, missives disclose

Islamic State militants are planning a takeover of Libya as a “gateway” to wage war across southern Europe, letters written by supporters of the terrorist group have disclosed.

The jihadists hope to flood the North African state with militiamen from Syria and Iraq, who will then sail across the Mediterranean posing as migrants on people- trafficking vessels, according to plans seen by Quilliam, the British antiextremist group.

The fighters would then run amok in southern European cities and also try to attack maritime shipping.

The document is written by a propagandist for Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. He is believed to be an important online recruiter for the terror group in Libya, where security has collapsed after the revolution that unseated Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The group has already established Libyan- based cells, who on Sunday released a video showing a mass beheading of 21 Egyptian Christian guest workers. The video, which prompted Egypt to launch retaliatory bombing raids on Islamic State positions in Libya, included footage of a khaki- clad militant pointing a bloodstained finger northward, declaring: “We will conquer Rome, by Allah’s permission.”

The propagandist, who uses the alias Abu Arhim al- Libim, describes Libya as having “immense potential” for Islamic State. He points out with relish that it is awash with weapons from the Libyan civil war, when large quantities of Gaddafi’s arsenals were appropriated by rebels.

The UN Security Council will meet on Libya in an emergency session Wednesday. Egyptian President Abdel- Fattah el- Sissi said in a radio interview aired on Tuesday that creating a UN- backed coalition was the best course of action to rid Libya of Islamic extremists.

Security officials share Islamic State’s view about the possibility of using people trafficking boats to smuggle fighters into Europe. Thanks to its vast, porous desert borders with sub- Saharan Africa, Libya has long been a key operating hub for trafficking boats heading into Europe, but numbers have escalated since the collapse of the Gaddafi regime.

Italy ’s interior ministry estimates at least 200,000 refugees and immigrants are poised to make the crossing from Libya to Sicily or the tiny island of Lampedusa, Italy ’s southernmost territory. Last year more than 170,000 arrived in Italy by boat.