What we know about Boshra News Agency labeled terrorist by Arab Quartet

CAIRO – 25 July 2017: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain announced in a joint statement late Monday that they have included Libya’s Boshra News Agency among the nine organizations newly added to their terrorism watch list.

The Arab quartet added three Yemeni and six Libyan associations to their terrorist list, stressing that "these new measures come within the framework of monitoring the counter terrorism approach that the four Arab nations determined."

Boshra News Agency is the official media outlet of the Benghazi Defense Brigades in Libya -- a terrorist militia designated by the four countries calling for combating terrorism in June 2017.

Boshra News Agency published the founding statement of Benghazi Defense Brigades that featured Benghazi Defense Brigades leader Ismail Mohammed al-Sallabi, a key recipient of Qatari financial and military support in Libya.

In July 2016, the Benghazi Defense Brigades used Boshra News Agency to take credit for its attack on a military helicopter outside Benghazi that resulted in the death of French military personnel, and to issue follow on threats against France for its involvement in Libya.

In March 2017, Al-Jazeera jointly covered a Benghazi Defense Brigades press conference alongside Boshra News Agency.

The Arab quartet’s statement added that the continuous and ongoing “violations” of the Authorities in Doha of Qatar’s commitments and obligations enshrined in agreements to which it is a signatory, have necessitated The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom of Bahrain to act to update their respective lists of designated terrorist organizations and individuals.

Qatar’s relations with several Arab states have been strained since May 24 over a leaked statement attributed to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, criticizing Gulf foreign policy with Iran, describing it as “unwise”.

Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad’s recent remarks in which he attacked Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prompted the major Arab powers to adopt urgent and strict measures towards Doha.

The Qatari crisis was escalated when Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE, along with Yemen and Libya announced a coordinated diplomatic break with Qatar, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. They also closed their airspace and seaports for Qatari transportation.