Category: Libya

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.
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.

ISIS in Action
On 20 and 23 December, ISIS fighters reportedly attacked the main control station of the Man Made River pipe system. The site is located 50km north of the town of al-Shuwarif, situated on the road between Tripoli and Sebha. The site currently lies within the domain of Libyan National Army (LNA) forces who took control of the area two weeks ago, under the command of Colonel Bin Nayel.  ISIS fighters plundered a lot of material from the station before departing. On 25 December, the LNA spokesperson al-Mesmari announced that the LNA had driven the ISIS fighters away and now control the station.
On 21 December, the mayor of Khoms announced that the beheading of a family which took place last month in the town was not done by Islamic State (ISIS) as originally believed. The mayor said that the perpetrator falsely attributed the murder to ISIS by to evade arrest.
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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 explanationhere 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.