But since France’s crushing of al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) in Mali, the jihadist presence in Libya has grown, prompting El Obeidi among others to claim that Libya has become al Qaeda’s headquarters in North Africa.

The first worrying sign of al Qaeda’s readiness to launch attacks in Libya came on April 23 when a car bomb was detonated outside the French embassy in Tripoli, wounding two gendarmes. A bombing effort on the British Council, a government-funded educational body protected by the British foreign office, was targeted on the same day but the bomber botched the attack. The bomber, dubbed the “Keystone Bomber” by Western security officials, reportedly panicked after he parked his car, heavily laden with explosives, too close to a high concrete bollard and was unable to open his door to make his escape.

Despite the bungled operation outside the British Council, foreign and Libyan security officials told The Daily Beast that the planning of the April 23 attacks showed a high standard—and they suspected it was an AQIM operation. At the embassy, the bombers parked the car as close as possible to the perimeter wall, so when the blast hit, concrete shards were hurled in all directions. According to Libyan and foreign security sources, the bomb used against the French Embassy was well constructed technically and a substantial amount of explosive was used, capable of generating an explosion that scattered debris three blocks away.