Brigades in eastern Libya, or Cyrenaica, for example, are strongly rooted in traditional Islamist ideology. Fighters in the region have been organized into powerful units, such as the February 17 Martyrs Brigade, the large government-allied force that was hired to protect the US mission in Benghazi, and the Libya Shield Force, the widely deployed coalition of militias that assisted the US mission on the night of the attack.
比方说，利比亚东部部队昔兰尼加笃信传统伊斯兰教义。该地区战士被集结成战斗力极强的部队，如2月17日烈士旅、受雇保卫美国驻班加西使团的大规模政府联军，以及在袭击发生当晚协助美国使团的部署广泛的民兵联盟利比亚之盾部队。