Category: Ansar al-Shari’ah in Libya

Eye On Jihadis In Libya Weekly Update – October 4, 2017

Posted on by libyaanalysis

IS in Action
On 28 September, the head of Investigations at the Attorney General’s (AG) Office, Sadeq al-Sour, held a press conference in Tripoli in which he gave the names and affiliations of several IS and Ansar al-Sharia connected individuals in Libya. He also provided details and photographs of accused, organizational charts, links and routes of travel into Libya based on 14 months of investigation. While many of the revelations and individuals named were already in public domain, this was the first time they were officially revealed or confirmed by official judicial Libyan authorities.
Al-Sour revealed that about 800 arrest warrants had been issued for nearly 200 terrorist attacks in Libya. He said there are currently 250 cases before the courts and that more than 1,000 elements belonging to terrorist organizations are wanted for justice. He also said that a database has been created containing all the information on 1,500 ISIS members.
Foreign links
Al-Sour said that more than 1,000 people belonging to terrorist organizations are wanted for justice, a large number of whom are wanted in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. Fifty warrants will be delivered to Interpol for ISIS suspects abroad. He added that more than 700 bodies of ISIS fighters from Sirte are being held in mortuary fridges.
Regarding leadership of IS in Libya, he claimed several Arab leaders rotated the command of IS in Libya, in coordination with the Libyan IS leadership. He said there are Libyan individuals who participated in the Syrian war and returned to Libya with an IS philosophy, however he also said that most IS members had not been Libyan, but that they had come from Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia, Mali, and Chad. There are still a lot of individuals in the Sudan and Tunisia who are recruiting members.
Suspects – believed dead
Many of the perpetrators of terror attacks in Libya that al-Sour mentioned are believed dead, with many killed in the battle or Sirte. These include:

  • Abu Amer al-Jazrawi, a Saudi commander of IS in Sirte
  • Abdulhadi Zaroon, one of the important IS leaders in Sirte
  • Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al-Zubaydi, an Iraqi commander also known as Abu Nabil al-Anbari, who was appointed commander of IS in Libya.
  • Hasan Araj, who according to al-Sour was the first person to be recruited by IS in Libya

Suspects – wanted

  • Mahmoud al-Barasi, the commander of IS in Benghazi. He is wanted for arrest and according to al-Sour, is currently located in the south of Bani Walid.
  • Mahdi Salem Rajab Dingo, who was responsible for IS’s staff and military office

Attacks
Al-Sour said that more than 200 suicide bombers and assassinations had been identified across Libya. Al-Sour listed several attacks and assassinations for which he said IS was responsible. These included:

  • The Egyptian Copts who were killed in Sirte. He said that the burial sites had been identified behind Sirte’s Mahari hotel and that the AG’s Office had all the information about those responsible for the slaughter.
  • The kidnapping of the Italians in Sabratha
  • The murders of former Attorney General Abdulaziz al-Hassadi, HoR member Freha al-Barkawi, Hasan Dakam, Sheikh Mohammed bin Othman and the director of the security of Sabratha, Hasan Kamuka.
  • Attacks on oil fields and the kidnapping of foreigners
  • Many murders, kidnappings, and assassinations in Sabratha

IS funding
Al-Sour said that IS kidnapped businessmen and used the ransoms for funding. He added that most of IS’s funding came via high ranking commanders in Syria and Iraq as well as through gaining control of various Libyan banks including Central Bank of Libya branches in Sirte, Benghazi, and Derna. He revealed that the AG’s Office had issued summons for some Libyan officials who had supported some terrorist figures financially.
IS cells
Al-Sour claimed that Derna, which is currently under the control of the Derna Mujahadeen Shura Council (DMSC) was preparing itself to become an emirate like Syria and Iraq. He also said there were numerous IS cells operating across Libya, including in Misrata. He said that the AG’s Office had information about cells trying to activate themselves in Libya, one of which is connected to the Hamas movement.
Other Jihadi Actors
On 28 September, the head of Investigations at the Attorney General’s (AG) Office, Sadeq al-Sour, held a press conference in Tripoli in which he gave the names and affiliations of several IS and Ansar al-Sharia connected individuals in Libya. He gave official confirmation that Ansar al-Sharia were the nucleus of the formation of IS in Libya and that the majority of Libyan IS leaders were former al-Qaida members. He also said the financing of Ansar al-Sharia emanated from the Libyan state.
Al-Sour claimed that the storming of the US Special Mission in Benghazi on 11 September 2012, and the subsequent death of US ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, was carried out by Ansar al-Sharia. He said Mohamed al-Zahawi, the leader of Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi, was responsible for the operation. He added that Ansar al-Sharia and al-Qaida were taking instructions from al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri directly. It is interesting that this revelation was made as the trial of a key suspect in the case gets underway in the US.
On 2 October, the U.S. District court for the District of Columbia began the trial of Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the Libyan man accused of orchestrating the Benghazi attack. Khatallah has been awaiting trial in the US since 2014, when he was captured by a team of US military and FBI officials in Benghazi and transported on a 13-day journey to the US aboard a Navy vessel. The case is expected to last several weeks.
On 1 October, Ahmed al-Mismari, the spokesperson for the Libyan Nationa Army (LNA), said that IS and branches of the Muslim Brotherhood affiliated to al-Qaida have joined forces to spread extremism in Libya. He claimed that Qatar is transporting armed IS fighters from Syria to Libya and that Qatar continues to provide financial support for terrorist organizations in Libya.
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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, 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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Eye On Jihadis In Libya Weekly Update – September 26, 2017

Posted on by libyaanalysis

IS in Action
On 22 September, the US conducted an airstrike on an IS camp in the desert valleys about 150 miles south-east of Sirte, reportedly killing 17 ISIS fighters and destroying 3 vehicles. US Africa Command (Africom) said the strikes were carried out by armed Reaper drones flying from a base in Sicily. Reda Eissa, a spokesman for the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Misrata-led al-Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) coalition said he had no information about the airstrikes. Interestingly, the Libyan National Army (LNA) also said that it conducted airstrikes against IS targets near Sadada, west of Sirte, on the same day.
Africom officials said that IS used the camp to move fighters in and out of the country, stockpile weapons and equipment, and plot and conduct attacks, adding that, “IS and al-Qaida have taken advantage of ungoverned spaces in Libya to establish sanctuaries for plotting, inspiring and directing terror attacks.” Africom also praised the GNA and their aligned forces for being valued partners against terrorism. This is the first US airstrike against IS under Donald Trump’s presidency.
Last week, the IS branch in eastern Libya, known as Wilayat Barqa, published its first video since the beginning of the year entitled ‘But They Never Lost Assurance Due To What Afflicted Them’. The long video covers the IS suicide car bomb attack in Nawfaliyah on 31 August and the Fugha checkpoint massacres in southern Libya on 23 August, as well as patrols east of Sirte and camps in the desert.
The video revealed that Ramadan Muhammed al-Rabeeie, whose nom du guerre is Abu Faraj al-Ansari, was the suicide bomber responsible for the Nawfaliyah attack in which 4 people died. He was reportedly born in 1984 and was a resident of Ras Abeida in Benghazi with five other brothers. He was imprisoned during the Qadhafi regime for connections to al-Qaida. He was a senior leader in Ansar al-Sharia Benghazi and allegedly commanded a specialist assassination and bomb squad. He joined IS in 2014. Al-Ansari had managed to escape from Sabri area of Benghazi in January 2017, but it appears that he has now perished in the suicide car bomb.
Other Jihadis
On 17 September, the Libyan National Army (LNA) broadcast televised ‘confessions’ of Ibrahim Muftah Abu Nuwwara, an imprisoned Ansar al-Sharia fighter from Ajdabiya who is in LNA custody. Nuwwara ‘confessed’ that a spate of assassination and kidnapping operations conducted in Ajdabiya were on his orders as well as the orders of al-Saadi al-Nawfali, a senior commander of the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), al-Kilani Abu Nuwwara, Usama Jadhran, and Khalid Ibsis al-Fakhiri.
In the confession, Nuwwara added that logistical and material support came from Benghazi via Yousef al-Faidi. He said al-Faidi is a key military commander in Ansar al-Sharia and was one of the main operatives conducting assassination and abduction operations in the east since the end of 2011 and it was he who used to deem any rivals as “infidels”. Al-Faidi was reported to have died in July 2015, but it appears he may still be alive with the BDB.
Nuwwara was captured in a sting operation in Khoms in March 2017 and thereafter transferred back to Ajdabiya. He allegedly also participated in the BDB attacks against the LNA in 2016. Prior to that, he and his three brothers had reportedly set up the Ajdabiya Ansar al-Sharia branch in March 2015 to support the establishment of the BDB and their mission to Benghazi via the Oil Crescent. His brother al-Kilani Abu Nuwwara, aka Abu Layth al-Ansari, was a unit commander in the BDB and was killed in a LNA airstrike in Jufra on 9 November 2016. His second brother Ahmed Abu Nuwwara was killed in another LNA airstrike in Ajdabiya on 24 November 2016. The last brother, Shahaat Abu Nuwwara, who reportedly led an Ansar al-Sharia cell in the town of Sultan, was killed in clashes with the LNA on 10 July 2017.
This ‘confession’ sparked intense anger and social rifts in Ajdabiya last week, leading to gunmen burning houses belonging to the Jadhran and Abu Nawwara families in retaliation for their alleged involvement in the assassinations. These developments have triggered deep rifts in the local area and forced members of the Maghraba tribe, to which these families belong, to condemn the acts.
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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, 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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Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: 29 August

Posted on by libyaanalysis
ISIS in Action  On 23 August, Islamic State (IS) fighters attacked the Libyan National Army (LNA)-controlled al-Fugaha checkpoint in Jufra around 400km south of Sirte. LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari said that eleven people were beheaded – two civilians and nine LNA fighters, including the commander of the battalion. On 24 August, the IS’s Amaq news agency released a statement claiming responsibility for the incident and announcing that 21 members of “Haftar’s militias” had been killed or injured. The same day two more LNA fighters were abducted north of Jufra. This marks the second officially claimed ISIS attack since the GNA-aligned al-Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) forces defeated ISIS in Sirte in December 2016. The first attack was on 7 May when ISIS cells attacked and killed members of a Misratan Third Force convoy. On 27 August, Amaq released its first video in Libya in almost half a year which showed several IS fighters guarding a checkpoint on the road between Jufra and Abu Grein, south of Sirte. The video also showed two men who were abducted on 24 August. They were identified as al-Sghaier Mohammed al-Majry, the deputy head of the High Commission for Elections, and LNA-affiliated fighter Mohammed Abu Bakr Mohammed, a member of the Asad al-Sahraa battalion which is part of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) unit in the Awbari region. After this latest attack, the LNA said it was deploying additional reinforcements from the 210 infantry brigade to the region south of Sirte to secure oil ports and installations while the al-Bunyan al-Marsus operations room announced it was sending Misratan reinforcements Other Jihadi Actors Last week, Usama Jadhran was arrested in Misrata as he attempted to depart the city en route to Istanbul. Usama is the brother of notorious Oil Crescent warlord Ibrahim Jadhran. He was arrested by local Misratan security authorities for his alleged membership in Ansar al-Sharia and the Ajdabiya Mujahedeen Shura Council, as well as his suspected links to IS. On 27 August, Fayez al-Serraj held a joint press conference in Sudan with his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir. The two leaders agreed to cooperate on security issues with a particular emphasis on fighting terrorism as it is a major hindrance to stability in Libya. The two discussed the latest developments in Libya in terms of politics, governance, the economy, and security. Bashir lamented the spill over effect of Libyan security issues in his country, “which have made it expensive for us to fight human trafficking, illegal immigration, and cross-border crimes,” adding that criminal and terrorist networks thrive in Libya’s un-governed spaces. This discussion touched upon ways to coordinate and secure common borders to prevent malevolent non-state actors from crossing freely between the countries. — 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. Eye-on-Isis-Logo-001

Eye On ISIS in Libya Weekly Update: August 1st

Posted on by libyaanalysis
ISIS in Action On 29 July, the Sabratha municipal council mobilized a new security force called the ‘anti-Islamic State (IS) Operation Room’ after agreement for the move was reached with local tribes last week. The force is intended to police the areas around Sabratha and Mellitah, and the council appointed Col. Omar Abdul Jalil from Sabratha as head of the new force. Tensions between the new force and the notorious local ‘Ammo’ militia led to a brief closure of the coastal road around Mellitah. In consequence, the ‘Ammo’ militia, which is led by Ahmed Dabbashi and reportedly runs the migrant smuggling networks across this region, withdrew from some of its current positions to around 20 km west of Sabratha. The anti-IS force announcement comes in a broader context of Sabratha municipal council’s recent efforts to empower local governance and strengthen rule of law from the bottom up. On the same day, Sabratha municipal council successfully launched the debut meeting of its ‘association of municipalities’. The association includes 45 local councils and aims to give local governments more weight in policy, security, and service delivery. Local tensions in Sirte between residents and Government of National Accord (GNA)-affiliated, Misratan-led al-Bunyan al- Marsus (BM) forces continue for fear of a Libyan National Army (LNA) incursion into the city. BM forces raised the anti-IS alert level last week and on 26 July, they claimed to have detected more IS movements on al-Load agricultural project on the road between Sirte and Jufra. On 27 July, unidentified aircraft launched two airstrikes targeting IS positions on the road, according to local sources. Other Jihadi Actors On 26 July, Libyan National Army (LNA) Special Operations forces posted pictures of a captured Ansar al-Sharia senior leader, Ibrahim Abu Nawwara. Although Nawwara was reportedly captured in western Libya near Khoms, local sources say that Khoms and Misratan forces affiliated with anti-IS salafis facilitated his handover to Benghazi as part of the ongoing political rapprochement between Misrata and the LNA. Meanwhile in Benghazi, LNA forces continue to fight with jihadis in the final block of flats in al-Khribish district in the city centre–despite the city being declared ‘liberated’ by the LNA in early July. LNA fighters reported that the remaining jihadist fighters were observed to be wearing explosive vests. The conflict areas remain littered with sewage, landmines, IEDs, and booby traps. On 28 July, a mother and her 2 daughters were injured when a landmine exploded in the Busnaib area of Benghazi. On 22 and 23 July, the Libyan National Army (LNA) conducted airstrikes against Derna Muhajadeen Shura Council (DMSC) positions near Derna. In retaliation on 29 July, the DMSC shot down an LNA MiG-23 fighter jet seizing both the pilot and the co-pilot prisoner when they parachuted into al- Dahr al-Hamar area. The DMSC announced that one of the pilots, Adel Jehani, had died from his injuries, while the LNA and many other local sources claim that the pilot was actually executed by the DMSC (allegedly by Muath al-Tashani). In response, Brigadier Salem al-Rifadi, Commander of the LNA’s Omar al-Mukhtar operation room, announced a return to full blown siege, and shut down all routes into Derna—preventing food, medicine or fuel from entering the city. On 30 July, the DMSC attempted to break the blockade but failed, allowing the LNA to reclaim the Kassarat area east of Derna. The DMSC offensive started at dawn with the DMSC militants attacking three LNA positions – al-Kassarat, Madrassat al- Ardam, and Hajjaj al-Hila – around the town. Five LNA fighters were killed and 4 were injured in the battle, while the DMSC said it lost one fighter, Feras al-Zinni, who is alleged to have been a member of Ansar al-Sharia. The latest escalation is estimated to be the result of a tightening military and social noose around the DMSC. Local sources allege that the DMSC has already ‘forgiven’ many IS captives it had in its custody and have gone as far as to recruit them into the DMSC ranks. On 26 July, the LNA counter terrorism forces positioned in Karsah beach, west of Derna, arrested former IS member, Anis Abdul Qader al-Sharkasi, as he was attempting to leave the city with his parents. Sharkasi, who lives in Wadi al-Naga area in Derna, was a former aide to Sofian Ben Qumu, the leader of Ansar al-Sharia in Derna who supposedly fled the city some time ago. — 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. Eye-on-Isis-Logo-001

Weekly Eye on Jihadis in Libya Update – May 30, 2017

Posted on by libyaanalysis

ISIS in Action and Other Jihadi Actors
According to local sources, on 24 May militias clashed with ISIS fighters near Bani Walid. Four ISIS fighters were killed. ISIS fighters are still active in the area after dispersing into the desert south-west of Sirte following their defeat at the hands of the Misratan-led al-Bunyan al-Marsus forces last year. Locals report that these ISIS cells are surviving by raiding trucks and ambushing travellers in this area. They reportedly have encampments in locations near Abu Grien, Jufra and al-Shuwerif. Three weeks ago, ISIS fighters killed two members of the large Misratan 13th Battalion (formerly Third Force) and injured three in an ambush between Jufra and Sirte.
In Tripoli, the Government of National Accord (GNA) – aligned RADA Special Forces arrested the brother and father of Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi. RADA said that Hashem Abedi, the 20-year-old brother of the alleged bomber, had been under observation for over a month and issued a statement saying that Hashem had confessed that both he and his brother Salman were members of ISIS.  Hasham allegedly also admitted that he had known the details of the Manchester bombing and had been planning to assassinate the UN Special Envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler. Ramadan Abedi, the father, who is alleged to have been a former member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, was also seized.
On 26 May, Egypt conducted six airstrikes against targets in Derna, supposedly in retaliation for the massacre of 28 Coptic Christians in Egypt’s Minya province the same day. The attack was claimed by ISIS. Further airstrikes were launched on 29 May. Targets included the city’s power station and the electricity distribution network. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the air strikes in Derna had targeted fighters responsible for plotting the Minya attack, and that Egypt would not hesitate to carry out additional strikes inside and outside the country. However, Derna is controlled by the Derna Mujahedeen Shura Council (DMSC) which fought against ISIS. ISIS was driven out of Derna two years ago.
On 28 May, the spokesperson for Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) Colonel Ahmed Mesmari said that the LNA was coordinating with Egypt’s military over the air strikes. The Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) praised the Egyptian airstrikes on Derna, while the Government of National Accord (GNA) condemned them as a gross violation of Libya’ sovereignty. During a press conference in Cairo on 29 May, Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said jihadist training camps in Libya were a huge threat to Egypt and that Egypt had targeted the bases of these organizations in full coordination with the LNA. The Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was also at the press conference.
On 27 May, Ansar al-Sharia (AS) officially announced that it had disbanded itself. AS’s leadership and fighting force has been weakened over the last three years through its fight against the Libyan National Army (LNA). The disbanding statement is significant because it may undermine the ideological conviction of fighters still allied with AS under the umbrella of the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council (BRSC). The final remnants of AS, along with the BRSC and ISIS, are besieged in their last two Benghazi enclaves of Sabri and Souq al-Hout. Interestingly, pro-ISIS media accounts celebrated AS’s disbanding as ‘inevitable’ and criticized the group for failing to unify its loyalties under the ISIS banner.
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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 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.
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Check out my new ‘Policy Watch’ for the Washington Institute: "Manchester Attack Highlights Foreign Fighters in Libya"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin


After Libyan British jihadi Salman Abedi killed twenty-two people in Manchester earlier this week, a friend of his noted that he had just returned from a three-week trip to Libya only days before the bombing. Although British investigators have yet to uncover or disclose publicly that the twenty-two-year-old suspect joined the Islamic State or received training while in Libya, his brother reportedly admitted that they were with IS following his arrest earlier today in Tripoli. In addition, IS has claimed responsibility for the bombing, and the French government has since revealed that Abedi traveled to Syria as well, raising concerns that the attack was the group’s first directed operation from Libya into Europe. If so, it reiterates the dangers of foreign fighter training abroad. It also puts the spotlight on the flow of foreign fighters to Libya, which many have understandably ignored due to the even larger flows seen in Iraq and Syria.
Click here to read the rest.

Weekly Eye on ISIS in Libya Update – May 9, 2017

Posted on by libyaanalysis

ISIS in Action and Other Jihadi Actors
On 7 May, ISIS’s official media arm claimed responsibility for an ambush of fighters belonging to the Government of National Accord (GNA) affiliated Misratan Third Force 100km south-west of Sirte. The Misratans were attacked in the al-Loud agricultural district as they were being transported by bus from Jufra to Misrata. Two Misratans were killed and one was injured in the assault. This is the first official operation claimed by ISIS since its defeat at the hands of the Misratan-led al-Bunyan al-Marsus coalition in Sirte in December.
Many Misratans are angry at what they see as an ‘ill-fated alliance’ between moderate Misratans and the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB). The BDB have withdrawn from Jufra to camp elsewhere in the desert south of Sirte. One of the BDB’s commanders, al-Saadi al-Nawfali, is known to have been a former leader of Ansar al-Sharia in Ajdabiya and is believed to be closely connected with Libyans who joined ISIS.
Last week, a new video was published showing the execution of an Algerian ISIS fighter by Captain Mahmood al-Werfalli, a notorious field commander of the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) Saiqa Special Forces. The ISIS fighter is believed to be Milood Abu Azzaz who was captured on 6 May by LNA fighters in the Sabri area of Benghazi, as he was preparing an IED. Azzaz was handed over to Werfalli, who executed him on film ‘under Sharia proceedings’ the same day.
On 4 May, the Libyan National Army (LNA) tentatively began a ground assault against the remaining jihadist enclaves in Sabri and Souq al-Hout in central Benghazi. They met with fierce resistance from jihadist fighters who are deploying IEDs and explosives in these areas to slow down the LNA’s advance. Days earlier, the Libya Free Martyrs Brigade, one of the militias fighting under the umbrella of the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council (BRSC), issued a statement declaring its intent to fight to the death and calling for support from allies.
On 8 May, the LNA launched its full assault against the jihadist enclaves and LNA fighters have reportedly taken Benghazi port and a number of areas in Souq al-Hout. A medical source said hospitals had received 12 LNA dead and 20 wounded since the new offensive began. On 5 May, an LNA commando force managed to sneak into Derna Mujahadeen Shura Council (DMSC) held territory south of Derna and destroyed a DMSC tank with explosives.
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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 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.
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Weekly Eye on ISIS in Libya Update – May 2, 2017

Posted on by libyaanalysis

ISIS in Action and Other Jihadi Actors
British daily newspaper The Guardian reported on 28 April that since late 2015, several Islamic State (ISIS) fighters may have infiltrated into Italy disguised as wounded Libyan fighters. The paper quotes an Italian intelligence document which claims ISIS fighters took advantage of a scheme called the Comitato Assistenza Feriti Libici (Centre for the Support of Injured Libyans) to apply for special visas, which allow wounded fighters to receive medical treatment in Europe. Wounded fighters are most commonly sent to hospitals in Turkey. Italian intelligence believes ISIS fighters presented false passports to medical personnel in Misrata, claiming to be members of the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (BRSC). The article goes on to claim that Misrata is the headquarters for smuggling fighters from Libya to other countries, and where the fraudulent issue of passports for fighters takes place.
Intermittent clashes between Libyan National Army (LNA) forces and jihadists are ongoing in Sabri and Souq al-Hout in central Benghazi, with two LNA fighters killed last week. On 26 April, the LNA conducted 10 airstrikes against jihadist positions. Jihadists in Benghazi counter LNA airstrikes with demolitions targeting infrastructure. On 26 April, jihadists demolished the third bridge between Sidi Youness area and Sabri, and on 28 April they brought down an iconic high rise flat in the city centre near the port.  On 27 April, Ansar al-Sharia’s Talot Foundation, operating under the banner of the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (BRSC), claimed responsibility for the demolition of several bridges in the Sabri area over the last few weeks. On 1 May, one civilian was killed and two others injured when several rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) hit Benghazi’s Leithi district.
On 29 April, a new video was published showing Wissam Bin Hamid, the BRSC leader rumored to have been killed in 2016, appealing to his followers. In the video, Bin Hamid laments the lack of support received by jihadists from many Libyan cities, but promises a comeback.  A high profile al-Qaeda leader from Derna has reportedly been handed over to the LNA following his transfer from Turkey to Jordan, then from Jordan to Libya. The man in question is most likely Abdul Basset Azouz, who was apprehended on 13 November 2014 by Turkish authorities.
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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.
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.
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