Al-Mahdi al-Harati

Mahdi al-Harati
Born	1973 Tripoli, Libya
Irish-Libyan rebel commander who received money from the CIA to be their proxy fighter in Libya and Syria.

Al-Mahdi al-Harati is an Irish-Libyan politician and former co-commander of the Tripoli Brigade during the 2011 Attacks on Libya. He was also the commander of Liwaa Al-Umma, a militant group fighting against the Syrian government.

Before the Libyan insurgency Mahdi al-Harati was an Arabic teacher in Dublin, where he lived with his Irish-born wife and family.

Robbed of CIA cash

In November 2011, a gang of Irish traveller thieves were in the middle of a holy war - after liberating €200,000 cash destined for Libyan rebels. In a tale worthy of the John le Carre thriller "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," the scam artists from Rathkeale in Co Limerick hit the jackpot when they robbed a home in Dublin's Firhouse. As well as a haul of family jewels, they stumbled upon €200,000 in €500 bills hidden in the hot press. But the homeowner was well-known Irish Libyan freedom fighter Mahdi al-Harati, who was one of the leaders of the bloody revolt against Muammar Gaddafi. He has told cops that the cash was a gift from US secret agents to aid the war effort in Libya. Now the money trail has led to the traveller strongholds in Rathkeale, where €500 notes have been popping up all over the place.

LIFG second in command

He was described by Volkskrant, a Dutch daily newspaper, as being a face of the Battle of Tripoli and one of the most important rebel commanders of the Libyan insurgency. The Sunday Times, a British newspaper, offered a first-hand account of Al-Mahdi's advance on Tripoli and his men's assault on Gaddafi's former residence, Bab Al-Azizia. He was appointed second in command of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group under [[Abdelhakim Belhadj].

On 11 October 2011, Al-Harati resigned as deputy head of the LIFG, amid tensions over security in the capital. According to the Irish Times, while Al-Harati's associates in Tripoli asserted that the resignation was for "personal reasons", a senior NTC official quoted by CNN said that the resignation was because of "differences with the National Transitional Council on the planning of the security of Tripoli". Fathi Al-Wersali, a member of the Tripoli Military Council, stated that Al-Harati would continue as commander of the Tripoli brigade.

Move to Syria

Following his involvement in the Libyan insurgency al-Harati went on a fact-finding mission to Syria where, following discussions with members of the Syrian opposition, he decided to form the militant group Liwaa Al-Umma. After six months leading Liwaa Al-Umma, Al-Harati left the brigade in September 2012 and handed over its command to the Free Syrian Army.

Mayor of Tripoli

In 2014, Al-Harati was elected mayor of Libya's capital city of Tripoli.

On 27 February 2017, Al-Harati was the victim of a sectarian attack in which he was arrested in Malta along with two men who attacked him.

Madrid bombings

Al-Harati and his boss Abdelhakim Belhadj at LIFG were said to have been blamed by the Spanish government for the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

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Related Document

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:Manchester Alleged Suicide Bomber Linked to Libya Islamic Fighting Group	Article	24 May 2017	'Tony Cartalucci'	The British government is directly responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing. It had foreknowledge of LIFG’s existence and likely its activities within British territory and not only failed to act, but appears to have actively harboured this community of extremists for its own geopolitical and domestic agenda.

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