Category: Libya

ISIS In Action GNA-aligned forces from Misrata managed to take full control of Sirte port’s and eastern coastline in Sawawa on 10 June. Libyan navy vessels blockaded the port as GNA forces advanced from the southeast, aided by airstrikes throughout last week. ISIS is currently hemmed into 20 square kilometers at Sirte’s center. Further, ISIS has lost control of all its coastal territory and the port will likely be used as a key transport route for GNA forces until ISIS is eliminated. Major gains achieved by the GNA’s Misratan-led Bunyan Marsus operations room against ISIS, indicate the easier part in the conquest of Sirte is finished and the harder part is just beginning. Reports indicate that Bunyan Marsus forces restricted ISIS militants to a 20 square kilometer area in the centre of the city, and retook the strategic Sirte port and the main coastal road east of Sirte on 10 June. On the eastern side of Sirte, Petroleum Facilities Guard units and Awlad Suleiman tribal fighters managed to fully capture the town of Harawah on 9 June, and advance to the 50km checkpoint east of Sirte. However, major advances have now seemingly come to an end, with indications that ISIS is about to launch intensive urban guerrilla warfare attacks, including suicide VBIEDs. On 11-12 June, ISIS conducted more than five suicide attacks against Bunyan Marsus fighters. One attack targeted the field hospital located 50km west of Sirte killing four staff. Two suicide attacks were conducted by ISIS to retake the port on 12 June, but were neutralized before hitting their targets. Another VBIED attack was conducted on 13 June in Gasr Abu Hadi 20 kilometres south of Sirte, an area taken by Bunyan Marsus last week. The ISIS attacks behind GNA front lines indicate that full control has not yet been established by the GNA’s forces, and that ISIS continues to have both presence and ability to draw in and exhaust it opponents at different locations inside 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
The Government of National Accord’s Misratan-led Bunyan Marsus operation room continued to make significant strides against ISIS this week, advancing to within two kilometres southwest of Sirte, and forcing ISIS to retreat towards the city. However, this does not mean that a frontal assault on Sirte is imminent. Despite its recent losses, ISIS is still rumoured to have sleeper cells in and around Surman, Misrata and Sabratha.
Sirte’s port is reportedly becoming a key base for ISIS to smuggle weapons and personnel out of the city. The port was targeted by GNA-affiliated airstrikes this week, originating from Misrata’s airbase, while other local reports (yet unconfirmed) say that the naval gunship Al Hares was mobilised to block ISIS from using port waters. ISIS’s control of coastline has now been reduced to approximately 100 kilometres between Sirte and Harawah. Meanwhile, ISIS sleeper cells are still suspected to be hiding in Misrata. Twelve such individuals were arrested on 3 June, reportedly planning attacks inside Misrata during Ramadan.
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
ISIS control of Libya’s coastline has been reduced to approximately 200 km east and west of Sirte. Significant gains made by the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) forces converging on Sirte from the west and southwest have thrown the ISIS rank and file into noticeable chaos. Sirte has become nearly deserted, with locals estimating that more than 70 percent of the city’s residents have fled. GNA airstrikes continued to hit targets in the city this week in support of an imminent ground assault. ISIS could possibly target facilities in the western region to slow the momentum of forces from Misrata, and to stem additional losses of territory.
Weekly Timeline: On 25 May, Bunyan Marsus operations room ground forces advanced with air support to the 50km checkpoint west of Sirte. Meanwhile, aircraft from Misrata conducted strikes against ISIS positions at the Baghla crossing, the 50km and 30km checkpoints, and other key targets inside Sirte. The operations room reported that an entire ISIS contingent was killed while attacking the Baghla crossing. An ISIS suicide vehicle attack at Istiraha Nakhil near Sirte was averted when a reconnaissance team destroyed the vehicle before it reached its target. According to the operations room, approximately 100 ISIS militants were killed during the fighting on 25 May. Sources from inside Sirte reported increasing anxiety and chaos among ISIS members inside Sirte as corpses and injured fighters arrived at the city’s main Ibn Sina hospital.
On May 26, ISIS claimed three SVBIED (Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosion Device) attacks on Misrata’s forces, saying that the attacks killed more than 100. However, these claims seem to be greatly exaggerated, based on known casualty figures.
On 28 May, Bunyan Marsus forces consolidated their control over the 30km checkpoint, while reconnaissance units advanced to the steam power station on the western outskirts of Sirte. Fierce battles were reported on the perimeter of the power station, resulting in the withdrawal of ISIS forces and approximately 30 killed. The operations room also said that it had destroyed four more SVBIED’s before reaching their target.
On the same day, details were released about the death of an alleged ISIS mastermind who was reportedly killed during a battle between the Bunyan Marsus operations room and ISIS last week. An unnamed official from the Libyan Attorney General’s office said that one of the bodies identified was that of a Tunisian named Khalid Al Shayeb, or “Abu Sakhr.” Abu Sakhr was said to be the head of all ISIS operations in North Africa on behalf of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi. His body was reportedly recognized and verified by different parties, including ISIS militants held captive by the GNA in Tripoli. The death of Abu Sakhr comes as a surprise, since he was previously reported deceased by a number of agencies, including the Tunisian authorities. He was a key leader in establishing ISIS in Libya, suspected of being the architect of the Bardo Museum attack, and of taking part in many of the assassinations of Libyan military officers. Abu Sakhr is believed to have died during the fighting on 25 May when an entire ISIS contingent was killed trying to recapture the strategic Baghla crossing southwest 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 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
The war between Misrata and ISIS is heating up. Simultaneously, Haftar has not engaged ISIS in any meaningful way this week. Although most of the talk of offensives against Sirte is comprised of hot air, real engagements have started to kick off on the Misratan side and these are likely to occasion countermeasures by ISIS. For example, On 22 May, landmines left by ISIS near Abu Grein killed an LNA officer and wounded two soldiers.
The threat of an ISIS attack against Misrata remains very high following a week of heavy fighting that saw the death of over 70 Misratans, mostly as a result of ISIS suicide bombings and landmines. Meanwhile, ISIS “sleeper cells” and sympathisers are widely suspected of operating within Misrata itself. ISIS launched an attack against the Misratans 100 kilometres west of the Sirte, in a bid to maintain its control over the city. Many of Sirte’s residents have fled, as a result of continued ISIS crackdown, and the imminent battle to liberate the city.
On 18 May, Human Rights Watch published a new report accusing ISIS of crimes against humanity. The report draws from March 2016 interviews 45 Sirte residents who were displaced to Misrata. According to HRW, one third of Sirte’s original population, or 80,000 residents, remain in the city because they cannot afford to leave. The interviewees estimated that there are nearly 1,800 ISIS personnel currently in Sirte, including fighters, police and administrators.
On 19 May, Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed Mismari said that the LNA has acquired intelligence indicating that ISIS militants regrouping in Sabratha once more, to prepare for attacks on western LNA units under the command of Colonel Idris Madi. Mismari also said that the LNA has not yet made contact with ISIS in its advance from the east toward Sirte.
On 22 May, landmines left by ISIS near Abu Grein killed an LNA officer and wounded two soldiers. ISIS has littered the area around Abu Grein with mines in a bid to prevent Misratan forces advancing further eastwards and cutting the strategic ISIS supply lines to the west. Several members of the Misratan-led forces have been killed in recent days as a result. Despite this, Abu Grein is now under control of Misratan forces, with a front line established at Al-Wishka, 25 kilometres to the east.
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.