IS in Action
On 9 January, two IS vehicles reportedly set up temporary checkpoints on the road west of Sirte near Abu Grein, inspecting vehicles and confiscating goods. On 11 January, a would-be IS bomber surrendered himself to al-Bunyan al-Marsous (BM) forces after defusing the bomb he was instructed to detonate. It is not at all clear why he did not detonate the bomb or why he would have handed himself in. It may be that he had been coerced into the attack or that there is a considerable element of spin to this report.
On 12 January, an IS fighter originally from Sudan was reportedly arrested in Qasr Abu Hadi, south of Sirte, after security forces received information from locals. On 13 January, local sources in the Jufra area reported an IS checkpoint set up by two vehicles at the al-Fugha main crossing, where they conducted inspections and searched for specific individuals. On 14 January, BM forces arrested an Egyptian who was allegedly hiding and transporting IS fugitives out of Sirte.
—
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 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.
 |