Weekly Eye on ISIS in Libya Update – August 1, 2016

ISIS In Action
After fierce fighting on 28-30 July, the Misratan-led Bunyan Marsus coalition took full control of the Hay Dollar area in Sirte.  Bunyan Marsus forces seized an artillery ammunition cache in the area, and are currently fortifying their positions there. Fighting against ISIS continued in the Qusoor Al Diyafa area near Ouagadougou Centre, ISIS’s stronghold in Sirte. The operation has thus far cost more than 300 Bunyan Marsus lives, with another 1,500 injured.
On 1 August, Government of National Accord Prime Minister Fayez Serraj made a televised speech announcing the beginning of US airstrikes against ISIS in Sirte, following a formal request by the Presidential Council.  The request was based on a 25 July recommendation by the Bunyan Marsus operations room to call for US airstrikes against identified ISIS targets in the city.
A weekly update of ISIS’s actions, the Western response, and developments pertaining to Libya’s other militias is available by subscribing here.  To read about Western countries’ responses to ISIS in Libya this week, click here. To read the Eye on ISIS in Libya Team’s blog post about the actions of other jihadi actors, click here. And to read their explanation of the developments within the anti-ISIS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here.
To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on ISIS in Libya report, click here. To subscribe to receive this report weekly into your inbox, sign up on the subscribe page.