Results for "Sabratha "

On 19 December, the Attorney General issued a statement declaring the end of the Tripoli Criminal Court’s trial of 33 individuals accused of being...

On 14 February, a state of alert was issued following reports that ISIS was planning a Vehicle Borne IED (VBIED) attack in Sabratha.

On 29 July, the Sabratha municipal council, with the cooperation of local tribes, mobilized a new security force. Dubbed the ‘anti-Islamic State (ISIS) Operation Room’ the force is intended to police the areas around Sabratha and Mellitah. After raising the anti-ISIS alert level last week, BM forces reported that ISIS activity on the road between Sirte and Jufra continues.

On 3 February, local media reported that security forces had arrested a Tunisian ISIS leader, Bilal bin Abdul Wahab bin Trad, as part of a security...

On 10 October, an anonymous US defence official said recent AFRICOM strikes in Libya killed 43 ISIS fighters, resulting in a pretty significant degradation of their capabilities. On 13 October, Sabratha security forces arrested Moaz Mabrouk al-Falah on suspicion of collaborating with terrorist groups.

On 9 May, ISIS conducted a daylight attack on the town of Ghadduwa. On 9 May, ISIS released its al-Naba newsletter no 181 that featured as its cover and main article the group’s 4 May attack. On 12 May, UK-based tabloid the Sunday Express reported that British military officials believe ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been hiding in Libya. On 14 May, the Sabratha Operations Room claim suspected ISIS member Safwan Abdul Majid was killed in an LNA airstrike in Zawiyya.

On 25 March, the Sabratha Security Directorate arrested a suspected ISIS member. On 28 March, a Libyan news media outlet published the testimony of a civilian kidnapped by ISIS late last year. On 1 April, the Misrata Security Directorate disposed of four tonnes of UXOs planted by ISIS in 2016.

On October 12, ISIS member Abdelhakim al-Mashout was arrested. On 11 October, ISIS fighters established mobile checkpoints south of Sirte. On 14 October, the 128 Battalion captured the leader of ISIS in the Nawfaliyah area. On 10 October, a mass grave was uncovered in the al-Thahir area previously controlled by ISIS west of the city.

On 28 September, the Attorney General’s Office released the names and affiliations of several ISIS and Ansar al-Sharia connected individuals in Libya. They provided details and photographs of accused, organizational charts, links and routes of travel into Libya and said 800 arrest warrants had already been issued for nearly 200 terrorist attacks in Libya.

Forces belonging to the GNA-aligned BM forces allegedly captured an ISIS fighter, during an operation to retrieve hijacked fuel trucks south of Sirte. Lone-wolf suicide attack at the LNA controlled Sidra gate checkpoint, kills the assailant and one other.

The Government of National Accord’s Misratan-led Bunyan Marsus operation room continued to make significant strides against ISIS this week, advancing to within two kilometres southwest of Sirte, and forcing ISIS to retreat towards the city. However, this does not mean that a frontal assault on Sirte is imminent. Despite its recent losses, ISIS is still rumoured to have sleeper cells in and around Surman, Misrata and Sabratha.

The war between Misrata and ISIS is heating up. Simultaneously, Haftar has not engaged ISIS in any meaningful way this week. Although most of the talk of offensives against Sirte is comprised of hot air, real engagements have started to kick off on the Misratan side and these are likely to occasion countermeasures by ISIS. For example, On 22 May, landmines left by ISIS near Abu Grein killed an LNA officer and wounded two soldiers.

ISIS is consolidating its grip on Sirte and the surrounding regions, while executions of members of the large local tribes Furnaj and Gadadafa have continued. ISIS reportedly executed three Libyan National Army soldiers in Sirte on 25 March after they were kidnapped in their hometown of Ajdabiya, while on leave from Benghazi. Another man was […]

As ISIS loses key personnel and territory in its battles with local fighters in Benghazi and Sabratha, the group is being forced to expedite its plans of establishing an emirate in Southern Tunisia. Developments over the course of the last two weeks indicate that ISIS has yet to find a hospitable environment in Libya, especially […]

Since 16 February, the last edition of the Eye on ISIS in Libya report, major shifts in ISIS presence and impact in Libya have taken place, reducing the threat somewhat in Eastern Libya, while escalating it in Western Libya. In Eastern Libya, ISIS lost its bastion of Al Lithi in Benghazi on 23 February. This […]

The Assault on the Oil Crescent – ‘The Battle of Abu Al Mughira’ The 3 day ISIS assault on oil crescent ports last week was successfully thwarted by the Petroleum Facilities Guard forces (PFG) and local volunteers. Nine PFG forces and around 30 IS members were killed in these clashes which destroyed over a billion […]

In Tripoli, pro-GNC militias captured an alleged member of ISIS last week. The captive, a Tunisian, detailed ISIS activities throughout Libya, implicating Murad Al-Gumati, leading to his murder by the Tripoli Rada militia (AKA special deterrence forces or – قوة الردع الخاصة). The incident follows on last week’s assault on an official of the religious affairs ministry who was accused of having ISIS affiliations. Although the Rada enjoys popularity in the capital as a keeper of law and order (such as these concepts are understood in Libya) the Salafist affiliation of Rada’s commander, Abdulraouf Kara, may have encouraged him to provoke a “black-on-black” fight between Islamist militias that are pro and anti-ISIS.