Following the Libyan Civil War , the removal of Gaddafi and the ensuing period of post-civil war violence in Libya , various Islamist militant groups affiliated with al-Qaeda were able to expand their operations in the region . The 2012 Benghazi attack , which resulted in the death of US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans , is suspected of having been carried out by various Jihadist networks , such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb , Ansar al-Sharia and several other Al-Qaeda affiliated groups . The capture of Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai , a senior al-Qaeda operative wanted by the United States for his involvement in the 1998 United States embassy bombings , on October 5 , 2013 , by US Navy Seals , FBI and CIA agents illustrates the importance the US and other Western allies have placed on North Africa
1998 United States embassy bombings
1998 United States embassy bombings
Al-Qaeda