Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: June 12

Posted on June 13, 2018 by libyaanalysis

On 6 June, locals claim that IS fighters established a fake checkpoint between Zillah and Waddan in the Jufra region and fired upon a vehicle killing two civilians from the Qadhafa tribe. However, in contrast to this version of events, IS published a claim stating that its fighters had killed two LNA soldiers during clashes at an LNA checkpoint in the Jufra district.

Other Jihadi Actors

On 9 May, one of the Derna Mujahadeen Shura Council’s key religious ideologues with alleged connections to al-Qaeda, Omar Refaair Sorour, was killed during a Libyan National Army (LNA) air strike on a residential area in downtown Derna. Sorour is thought to have been one of al-Qaeda’s top recruiters in Libya and was a key figure in the group’s plans to rebuild itself following the demise of IS. Sorour is said to be one of Egypt’s most wanted terrorists in Libya with close ties to Hisham al-Ashmawy, a prominent Egyptian jihadist, and his death has been eulogized by significant al-Qaeda affiliated figures including Moroccan jihadi preacher Omar al-Haddouchi. The announcement of Sorour’s death coincided with reports that Abdulsalam al-Awami, the al-Qaeda Imam in Derna and prominent al-Qaeda leader, Sufian Bin Qammu, were also killed during LNA raids in Derna.

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, and to read about 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.