Weekly Eye on ISIS in Libya Update – January 3, 2017

ISIS in Action
Sources report there is evidence of an ISIS presence in the area between Bin Walid, Brak al-Shati and Sebha in southern Libya. ISIS fighters reportedly use the desert roads which connect to the Man Made River pipeline network to move between areas, raid supplies, and establish checkpoints. These ISIS fighters reportedly include high profile leaders who managed to escape from Sirte before or during the Misratan-led offensive against the city. There are also reports that training and base camps have been set up in the desert, although no confirmed reconnaissance evidence has yet verified this information.
In Sirte, Brigade 604, a Salafist brigade nominally affiliated with the Misratan al-Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) forces, has been tasked with securing the city’s main installations and residential areas.  However, this has caused some tensions within Misrata as this brigade is believed to be close to Haftar. Threats still remain in Sirte from booby traps, IEDs and attacks by any remnant ISIS fighters.
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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.
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