Arab turmoil stirs fear of al-Qaida threat

As rebels in Libya loot the military arsenals of Moammar Gadhafi's crumbling regime and militants are freed from Egyptian prisons, there are fears that al-Qaida could exploit the turmoil sweeping the Arab world to spread jihad. Libya is viewed as most vulnerable because, unlike Egypt and Tunisia, it faces the collapse of an entire dictatorial regime, not just the departure of the head of a regime.
Jihadists have never succeeded in overthrowing a Muslim regime but are still seen as a threat by some.
"While it seems unlikely at this point that the jihadists could somehow gain control of Libya, if Gadhafi falls and there is a period of chaos in Libya, these militants may find themselves with far more operating space inside the country than they have experienced in decades," global security consultancy Stratfor noted.
"If the regime does not fall and there is civil war between the eastern and western parts of the country, they could likewise find a great deal of operational space amid the chaos."