Libya talking to al-Qaida-linked jihadis

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- A foundation headed by the son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is re-launching talks with the al-Qaida-linked Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

The Gadhafi International Foundation for Charity Associations and Development said on its Web site that the talks were "taking place under (the) direct oversight" of Saif Al-Islam Gadhafi, its chairman.

He holds no formal job within the government but is widely regarded as one of his father's most trusted deputies.

The statement said the talks were with the group's leadership, but did not name anyone involved. "Some Islamic intellectual personalities" were also taking part.

The London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported Monday that the talks had been renewed a few weeks ago after a long break.

The foundation said that, as a result of the talks, "competent authorities" had "started immediately making preparations to release one third of the group members."

It is not known how many of the group's fighters are held in Libyan jails.

The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a jihadist organization dedicated to the overthrow of Gadhafi and the establishment of an Islamic state in Libya, was set up in 1990s by returning veterans of the U.S.-backed campaign against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

In November 2007 Abu Laith al-Libi, a leading member of the group based on the Afghan-Pakistan border, appeared in a video with Osama bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, saying that the LIFG had merged with al-Qaida.

Analysts said at the time it was hard to gauge the extent to which the move would be recognized by LIFG members back home.

Earlier this year al-Libi was killed in a suspected U.S. missile strike in Pakistan.