IS in Action
Last week, the Libyan National Army (LNA) declared the Oil Crescent to be a closed military zone after a number of IS convoys were seen inside Harawah town, between Sirte and Sidra. However, on 26 November, al-Ghani oil field, which is in LNA controlled territory but has been closed since 2015 after an IS attack, was ransacked and buildings torched by unknown assailants.
US Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed that US forces conducted two airstrikes against targets inside Libya on 17 and 19 November respectively. According to the statement, AFRICOM worked with the Government of National Accord (GNA) to launch the two ‘precision’ airstrikes which hit IS fighters near Fuqaha, south of Waddan.
According to recently released reports, the LNA captured Anis Bualjieh Awami last month. Awami is an IS fighter who was pictured holding up the head of Abdulnabi al-Shargawi at the Ateeq Mosque in Derna on 3 June 2015. Awami was reportedly seized by an LNA unit last month from near his home in Derna. Awami was reportedly one of the IS guards at the execution but did not carry out the execution himself. After IS was defeated by the Derna Mujahadeen Shura Council (DMSC), Awami was arrested before switching allegiance to the DMSC in 2016, leading to his release.
On 22 November, two bodies were recovered by the Libyan Red Crescent in Sirte, suspected to be IS fighters killed the year before.
Other Jihadi Actors
On 27 November, the Libyan National Army (LNA) conducted an airstrike on Derna Mujahedeen Shura Council (DMSC) targets in al-Dahra al-Hamar area south of Derna.
On 23 November, a mutiny inside a Misratan prison among Islamist hardliners led to four prisoners fleeing, with two later killed in a faceoff with prison guards.
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