Al-Qaeda emirs take on Islamic State in Libyan battleground

The jihadist organisations that have prospered in the ruins of the Libyan state since the overthrow of the dictator Colonel Muammar Qadhafi have started to fight among themselves, adding another level of complexity to an already fragmented political scene. A related North Africa-wide effort to unite more established Al-Qaeda elements against the insurgent Islamic State (IS) is being led by the notorious one-eyed Sahelian terrorist, kidnapper and smuggler, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who almost certainly escaped death despite being the target of a US Air Force raid on a farm outside Ajdabiya on 13 June.