Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: June 19

On 14 June, unconfirmed reports suggest IS and Benghazi Defence Brigade fighters were spotted near the village of Harawa, 50 km east of Sirte. Libyan National Army al-Saiqa Special forces are said to have mobilized to the location in response to the reports.


Other Jihadi Actors

On 16 June, the Libyan National Army (LNA) claimed to have captured al-Qaeda linked Ansar al-Sharia commander Sufian bin Qumu during a raid in northern Derna. Bin Qumu is reported to have been the personal driver of Osama bin Laden while he was in Sudan.
On 14 June, two senior leaders of the Benghazi Defence Brigade (BDB), Ahmad al-Tajouri and Faraj Shaku, were allegedly killed by airstrikes as they moved from Bani Walid to the Oil Crescent. Families held a wake on Saturday in the Zureik area of Misrata and a group from Ajdabiya allegedly attempted unsuccessfully to bury the bodies. Prior to becoming a member of the BDB, Faraj Shaku was a commander of the now-disbanded Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (BSRC) and the February 17 Martyrs’ Brigade, while Ahmad al-Tajouri was the former leader of the BRSC hailing from the Tajuri district of Benghazi.

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.
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