On 9 January, two ISIS vehicles reportedly set up temporary checkpoint on the road west of Sirte near Abu Grein, inspecting vehicles and confiscating goods. On 11 January, a would-be ISIS bomber surrendered himself to al-Bunyan al-Marsous (BM) forces after defusing the bomb he was instructed to detonate. It is not at all clear why he did not detonate the bomb or why he would have handed himself in. It may be that he had been coerced into the attack or that there is a considerable element of spin to this report.
On 12 January, an ISIS fighter originally from Sudan was reportedly arrested in Qasr Abu Hadi, south of Sirte, after security forces received information from locals. On 13 January, local sources in the Jufra area reported an ISIS checkpoint set up by two vehicles at the al-Fugha main crossing, where they conducted inspections and searched for specific individuals. On 14 January, BM forces arrested an Egyptian who was allegedly hiding and transporting ISIS fugitives out of Sirte.