Category: Libya

ISIS In Action
On 14 October, BM forces stormed the ‘Campo’ area between the First and Third Residential Districts.  ISIS have been using this area to flank BM fighters as they attempt to surround ISIS’ enclave in the Third Residential District. 14 BM fighters died and 35 were injured before BM forces managed to take control of the Campo neighbourhood from ISIS fighters. On 16 October, BM forces advanced further inside al-Gizah al-Bahriya from the west. The US said it had conducted 36 airstrikes on enemy fighting positions over the weekend, bringing its total airstrikes so far in support of BM forces up to 288 in total. ISIS claimed a suicide vehicle attack on BM forces on 16 October.
On 14 October, there were reports of ISIS vehicles being present in the areas between al-Baghlah & Wadi Allod and also Wadi Jarif & Bu’ayrat al-Hasun, indicating that some ISIS forces have managed to escape safely out of the city and are still active south of Sirte. In Sebha, a key city in southern situated Libya 6ookm south of Sirte, a Saudi national and a Libyan were taken captive after they were accused of being  part of a hidden ISIS cell in the city.
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
In Sirte, ISIS forces are still confined within the coastal residential districts of Hay Al-Gizah and 600 Flats, a small enclave of two to three square kilometres in the east of the city. ISIS fighters have heavily barricaded this area with sand blockades and trenches. On 22 September, intense clashes took place after Misratan-led Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) forces attempted a renewed push into the ISIS stronghold. BM forces suffered heavy losses: 8 fighters died and 50 were injured in the assault. The BM media centre reported neutralising three ISIS suicide vehicles before they hit their targets. The remaining ISIS fighters in Sirte are proving difficult to dislodge due to their effective use of IEDs and VBIEDs.
On the early morning of 23 September, ISIS fighters conducted a surprise assault against BM forces positioned in Sirte port.  The assault was repelled after a few hours, and the ISIS militants withdrew to their strongholds in eastern Sirte. On 24 September, local media sources reported 4 suicide vehicle attack attempts by ISIS against BM forces, but these have not yet been confirmed by the GNA-affiliated forces.
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 18 September, the GNA’s Misratan-led Bunyan Marsous (BM) forces resumed their ‘final’ push to destroy remaining pockets of ISIS fighters in Sirte after a two-week break. Two ISIS SVBIED’s were destroyed before they could reach their targets, while artillery targeted the coastal 3rd district where ISIS fighters are holding out.  Local sources also indicate that on a weekly basis more ISIS members from Derna are reported dead in Sirte. On 18 September, Mohamed Ghasri, a spokesperson for BM forces said “Our forces targeted hideouts of Daesh in Neighbourhood No.3’s 600 block area and Geza Bahriya with heavy artillery shelling,” Ghasri said two ISIS commanders, Hassan Karami and Walid Ferjani, had been killed in fighting inside the city, without giving details. Clashes between Misratan forces and ISIS units south of Sirte may also indicate that, as predicted, ISIS members have managed to seep south out of the city. On 14 September, ISIS claimed an attack against BM forces in Wadi Jaref, 30 km south west of Sirte. The same day, members of the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) clashed with members of ISIS in Wadi Zamzam, also south west of Sirte. ISIS released a statement last week claiming responsibility for the two vehicle explosions which took place on 9 September near the Government of National Accord (GNA) building in the Abu Setta Naval Base in Tripoli. 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
In Sirte last week, the Misratan-led Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) forces started a slow advance on the ‘Hay al-Jiza al-Bahriya’ area, and the ‘600 flats’ residential area. They came under sustained fire from Islamic State (ISIS) snipers positioned on the roofs of the flats, as well as being targeted by several suicide bombers in vehicles. On 7 September, Libyan air force jets from the Misrata airbase launched airstrikes targeting the ‘600 flats’ and ‘al-Jiza al-Bahriya’ areas, supported by American airstrikes. The last remnants of ISIS are now reportedly cornered in these areas after losing most of their positions in the urban areas of Sirte over the past two weeks. The fighting calmed down on 9 September as BM forces consolidated control over liberated areas and defused explosive ordinance, but resumed on 12 September, the first day of Eid al-Adha, with ISIS announcing it had killed six BM fighters.
In Misrata, a security checkpoint at the city’s eastern gate arrested two alleged ISIS members on 7 September, one from al-Khoms in western Libya and the other from Sudan. Their vehicle was reportedly already rigged with explosives and headed to Misrata’s air force base for a suicide mission.
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
In Sirte, the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Misratan-led al-Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) forces continued to make more gains against the Islamic State (ISIS). On 30 August they fully took control of the ‘first’ residential area, and on 2 September they moved against the last remaining ‘third’ residential area. On 31 August PM Fayez al Serraj and some members of the GNA Presidential Council travelled to Sirte, entering the liberated Ouagadougou complex, which only two weeks ago had served as the ISIS in Libya HQ. The Misratan forces have come across some fascinating documents left behind by ISIS fighters, reportedly revealing direct links and cooperation between ISIS in Sirte and jihadists from the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council (BRSC), who are fighting the Libyan National Army (LNA) in eastern Libya.
al-Bunyan al-Marsus is also thought to be considering the appointment of a military governor for Sirte, under the command of the Presidential Council (PC). The LNA’s Martial law arrangements in eastern Libya seem to be gaining in popularity due to the system’s apparent success in establishing relative security and facilitating local governance. The PC may chose to implement a similar model by which to control Sirte post-ISIS.
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.