Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 4 - Asbat al-Ansar (AAA)

Asbatal-Ansar

Aka:  AAA; Band of Helpers; Band of Partisans; League of Partisans; League of the Followers; God’s Partisans; Gathering of Supporters; Partisans’ League; Esbat al-Ansar; Isbatal-Ansar; Osbatal-Ansar; Usbatal-Ansar; Usbatul-Ansar.

Description:  Designated as an FTO on March 27, 2002, Asbat al-Ansar (AAA) was a Lebanon-based Sunni terrorist group composed primarily of Palestinians that first emerged in the early 1990s.  Linked to al-Qa’ida and other Sunni terrorist groups, AAA aims to thwart perceived anti-Islamic and pro-Western influences in the country.  AAA’s base was largely confined to Lebanon’s refugee camps.

Activities:  Throughout the mid-1990s, AAA assassinated Lebanese religious leaders and bombed nightclubs, theaters, and liquor stores.  The group also plotted against foreign diplomatic targets.  Between 2005 and 2011, AAA members traveled to Iraq to fight.  AAA has been reluctant to involve itself in operations in Lebanon, in part because of concerns of losing its safe haven in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp.  AAA did not claim responsibility for any attacks in 2024.

Strength:  AAA was estimated to have a few hundred members.

Location/Area of Operation:  AAA’s primary base of operations was the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon.

Funding and External Aid:  AAA likely receives money from other international terrorist organizations.

Associated documents