Osbat Al-Ansar

Osbat al-Ansar or Asbat an-Ansar (League of the Partisans) is a Lebanon-based Sunni fundamentalist group established in the early 1990s which professes the Salafi form of Islam and the overthrow of the Lebanese-dominated secular government. The organization is largely based in Ain al-Hilweh.

Osbat al-Ansar is on the United States' list of terrorist organizations for alleged connections with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, and the American administration decided to freeze all assets of Osbat al-Ansar following the attacks on September 11th, 2001. The group has reportedly received funding from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and has been proscribed as a terrorist group by Australia, the United Nations, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Osbat al-Ansar is also connected with fundamentalist groups Osbat al-Nour, Jund Ash Sham, the Dinniyeh Group and Takfir wal Hijra. Ahmed Abd al-Karim al-Saadi is the ostensible leader of the group; however, since he went into hiding in 1999, the group has been led by his brother Abu Tariq. Osbat al-Ansar is estimated to have between 100 and 200 members, mostly Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians living in Ain al-Hilweh.