On 29 August, the UN published a report outlining the UN Secretary General’s (UNSG) overview of the Libyan crisis as presented to the UN Security Council on 26 August. The report claimed there “was a significant increase in the number of attacks by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in southern Libya” following the LNA’s assault on Tripoli in April. The report states that “ISIL has between 500 and 700 fighters in Libya, including Libyan and foreign nationals. Both Libyan National Army forces in the south and forces affiliated with the Government of National Accord in the west have continued to disrupt ISIL cells and arrest suspected affiliated individuals.”
The report outlined ISIS-claimed attacks since April stating that ISIS claimed responsibility for attacks near the southern villages of Fuqaha on 8 April and 3 June, and Ghuduwwa on 25 March and 9 May. ISIS also claimed attacks on a Libyan National Army (LNA) military camp in Sabha on 4 May and on a military checkpoint in Zilla on 18 May. From 12 to 15 June, clashes were reported between ISIS and local LNA units in the Harouj desert area, east of Sabha. Furthermore, the report claims that at least 22 people were killed by ISIS in the South during attacks or in clashes between local units and ISIS cells. In eastern Libya, ISIS claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on 2 June against LNA forces in Derna, which reportedly injured 11 people.