ISLAMIC State’s new branch in Libya could have picked few more eye-catching ways to stage its debut in the capital, Tripoli, than with an attack on a landmark building, the seafront Corinthia hotel. The attackers combined a commando raid on its marble-clad lobby with a car bomb that exploded as guests fled, and the capture of hostages on the 21st floor. The attack killed at least nine people, including five foreigners, one of them American.The luxury Corinthia hotel, which is Maltese-owned, had somehow managed to sidestep sanctions and wars. The haven it provided made it a favourite of foreign visitors, including UN officials. It even became the residence of self-declared prime minister, Omar al-Hassi. The sanctuary has now been defiled.In the name of its “Tripoli province”, IS claimed responsibility for what was Libya’s deadliest attack on Western interests since the raid on an American diplomatic mission in Benghazi that killed the ambassador and three of his compatriots in September 2012. The jihadists named two of the assailants, a Tunisian youth and his equally fresh-faced Sudanese accomplice. They were, they said, avenging the death in American custody of an alleged al-Qaeda operative, Abu Anas al-Liby, earlier this month. They threatened that more strikes would come.Panicky officials from Libya Dawn, a loose alliance of predominantly western Libyan and Islamist...
From The Economist: Middle East and Africa
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