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To inquire about a translation for this video message for a fee email: [email protected]
ISIS In Action
In Sirte, there was a lull in fighting for most of last week. Then, on 2 October, after ten early morning airstrikes launched by aircraft from Misrata’s air base academy, the Misratan-led Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) forces attempted a renewed assault on the remaining ISIS stronghold of Hay Al Gizah, a roughly one square kilometre residential area in the northeast of the city. BM forces suffered heavy losses: 8 fighters died and 50 were injured in the assault, although BM forces said that as many as 55 ISIS militants were killed. These figures have not been confirmed. Many ISIS militants also appear to have died during a counterattack by the group toward Sirte port. It seems ISIS fighters are still able to access and enter areas of the city controlled by BM forces. BM also said its forces were searching for another ISIS unit who were trying to make their escape out of the city.
On 2 October, Jeroen Oerlemans, a Dutch photojournalist, was killed in Sirte. He was reportedly shot in the chest by an ISIS sniper in the Al Zafaraan area of Sirte, a neighbourhood which had supposedly been liberated from ISIS forces. Oerlemans was taken from the Sirte frontline to Misrata hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
In Benghazi, ISIS’ media arm continues to publish photo galleries of fighting between jihadists and LNA fighters. The latest batch of photographs released on 29 September showed the use of UAV’s being used to target LNA positions with 120mm mortar shells in the Amarat Al Sinya district.
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.
Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: Majlis Shūrā al-Mujāhidīn Darnah: “The Revolution of God is Great and Methodology”
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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.
al-Nuṣrah al-Maqdisīyyah: “Surt’s Steadfastness”
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To inquire about a translation for this nashīd for a fee email: [email protected]
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.
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Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: Majlis Shūrā al-Mujāhidīn Darnah — “Mourning and Lamentations for the Champions of Darnah, the Victorious of Qanfūdah”
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