ISIS in action

The DMSC claims to have found the bodies of 5 foreigners abducted by ISIS in March 2015. DMSC forces found the deceased during a combing operation in June 2015 and identified them after scrutinizing equipment and laptops seized in Derna following the defeat of ISIS in the area earlier in the year.

On 10 September, the commander of the LNA’s Sirte Operation Room declared that the entire coastal strip from Sidra to about 50km east of Sirte. On 8 September, the LNA reportedly defused a bomb attached to the main gas pipeline south of Ajdabiya. BM forces are positioned at the 30km checkpoint east of Sirte, and it is reported that BM arrested two people in a raid last week, fueling tensions with the local population.

ISIS media claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack on a Libyan National Army (LNA) checkpoint at the entrance of al-Nawfaliya town, on 31 August. It was reported that ISIS units moved in to al-Teysseen, a town 90 kms east of Sirte, on 1 September. They allegedly held an Eid prayer in the local mosque and took positions in the town. The LNA air force launched a series of airstrikes targeting ISIS positions, from Ras Lanuf airstrip on 2 September.

On 23 August, Islamic State (ISIS) fighters attacked the Libyan National Army (LNA)-controlled al-Fugaha checkpoint in Jufra. Eleven victims were beheaded. On 27 August, Amaq released a new video showing two abductees and featuring several ISIS fighters guarding a checkpoint on a road near Jufra, south of Sirte.

Islamic State (ISIS) militants attacked the Libyan National Army (LNA)-controlled al-Fogha checkpoint near Jufra this morning, killing at least nine soldiers and two civilians. According to LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari, the eleven victims were beheaded and many others were left injured. The IS Amaq news agency released a statement this morning claiming the incident and […]

Two individuals were tried on terror charges in Tripoli after alleged involvement in a series of attacks in the capital, including the assault on the Corinthia Hotel in January 2015. The defendants have not been named and it is unclear how they came to be detained. BM forces published trailers of upcoming ‘confessions’ by Libyan ISIS fighters captured during fighting between BM and ISIS.

Efforts to secure the Sabri and Souq al-Hout areas of Benghazi are not advancing as quickly as expected and more lives continue to be lost as a result of exploding ordnance.

Despite a lack of concrete evidence of connection between the mafia and extremist groups, rumors circulate about cooperation in the illicit economy via fuel and drug smuggling in the Sahara Desert. GNA- aligned al-Bunyan al-Marsus forces continue to conduct anti-ISIS reconnaissance missions in Abu Hadi area, south of Sirte.

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.