 In 747, Ilyas tried to crack down on the fledgling Ibadites, a puritanical Kharijite sect, that was growing strong in the cities of Djerba and Tripoli and among the Berbers in the surrounding districts.The Ibadites, inspired by the success of their brethren in Hadramut and Oman, revolted under the leadership of their imam al-Harith, and seized control of much of Tripolitana (between Gabès and Sirte).But in 752, Ibn Habib dispatched an Ifriqiyan army and reconquered Tripolitana from the Ibadites, driving their remnants south into the Jebel Nafusa.