Dozens of Libyans pledge allegiance to top IS leader

CAIRO: Dozens of residents of a town in eastern Libya have pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, leader of Islamic State militants fighting in Syria and Iraq, according to a video and a resident.

Around 50 young people could be seen in a video posted on social media gathering in Derna to support Baghdadi, who calls himself “caliph,” or Muslim leader, of Islamic State, an Al-Qaeda offshoot.

A Derna resident confirmed the authenticity of the video, taken late on Friday.

There has been growing con- cern among Western nations and Libya’s neighbors that Islamic State is trying to exploit lawlessness in the oil producer where militants and other militias who helped topple Muammar Qaddafi in 2011 are carving out fiefdoms.

Derna, a port halfway between the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi and the Egyptian border, has since 2011 turned into a gathering point for militants and Al-Qaeda sympathizers.

Fifteen members of Islamic State, led by an Egyptian and a Saudi national, traveled to Derna from Syria in September trying to rally support and establish an Islamic State branch in Libya, Egyptian security officials have said.

Youth driving through the town waiving Islamic State flags could be seen after the visit, according to a video on social media.

Authorities were unable to open ballot boxes for Libya’s parliamentary elections in June in Derna due to threats from militants. Militants also executed an Egyptian for alleged murder in Derna stadium.

Derna, already a stronghold of radicals under Qaddafi, has also made headlines with pictures of Islamic courts and police stations. CAIRO: An Egyptian court on Saturday convicted eight men for “inciting debauchery” following their appearance in an alleged same-sex wedding party on a Nile boat, sentencing each of them to three years in prison.

The Internet video shows two men exchanging rings and embracing among cheering friends. The eight were detained in September when a statement from the office of Egypt’s chief prosecutor said the video clip was “shameful to God” and “offensive to public morals.”

Saturday’s verdict is the latest in a crackdown by authorities against gays and atheists. The campaign also targets liberal and pro-democracy activists and violators of a draconian law on street protests.

In April, four men were convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison for “debauchery” after allegedly holding parties that involved homosexual acts and where women’s clothing and makeup were found.

In 2001, Egypt made headlines around the world when 52 men were arrested in a police raid on a Nile boat restaurant and accused of taking part in a gay sex party.