Clashes between Libyan National Army (LNA) units and Islamic State (IS) fighters occurred in the Harouj mountains on 12, 14 and 15 June. On 13 June, LNA forces claimed to have killed six IS members, while others retreated into the mountains. On 14 June, the LNA forces composed of the Khalid Bin Walid Brigade and the 10th Infantry Brigade claimed to have killed twelve IS members and destroyed six ‘technicals’ – jeeps with guns mounted on the back.
On 14 June, IS released an Amaq report claiming to have killed fifty LNA fighters as well as the destruction of multiple armoured vehicles over two days of clashes with the LNA at multiple locations including Fuqaha, Samnu, and Tmassah, west of the Harouj mountains. In separate statements, one issued on the same day, the other on 13 June, IS claimed to have killed 30 and 19 LNA fighters respectively. On 15 June, IS claimed responsibility for an improvised explosive (IED) attack targeting LNA forces near Tmassah.
On 11 June, security forces stopped two Sudanese migrants at the Algerian-Tunisian border on suspicion of being members of IS as they had travelled from Libya. This follows reports on 8 June that the Algerian army fired upon a suspected IS armed group as they approached the boarder.
On 17 June, LNA forces claimed they observed IS elements between Sirte and Saddada.
=&1=& Other Jihadis On 13 June, a jury in a federal court in Washington found Mustafa al-Imam guilty on two terrorism-related charges – conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and aiding in the destruction of American property – in relation to the attack on a US diplomatic compound in Benghazi in 2012. The sentencing jury continues to deliberate on an additional fifteen charges.
On 27 May, Misrata operations room in coordination with the central regions criminal investigation apparatus undertook a raid in Abu Grein, arresting alleged IS supporter Faris Belhaj (alias Khattab).
On 28 May, the Misratan Central Counter-Terrorism Force arrested seven alleged IS members in a safe house in Abu Grein. Weapons and other communication equipment were confiscated.
On 28 May, IS was observed south of Sirte in the late evening and early morning of the following day.
On 30 May, IS published a second set of “Diary of a Mujahedeen” photos, which supposedly portrays its members’ daily lives in the Fezzan.
On 3 June, IS claimed to have attacked the Libyan National Army (LNA) Checkpoint 400, on the road linking Jufra to Sebha, in the Fuqaha area. An official from the Jufra Municipal Council stated that the LNA forces successfully defended the attack without any loss of life.
On 2 June, two vehicle-borne IEDs targeting the LNA’s Awilat al-Dam and Omar al-Mukhtar Operations Room headquarters left as many as 18 people injured. Remnants of Derna Protection Force (DPF) were initially accused of undertaking the attacks. However, on 3 June, IS claimed responsibility for the 2 vehicle-borne IEDs attacks conducted on 2 June as part of the group’s ongoing “war of attrition.”
=&1=& On 28 May, the Libyan National Army (LNA) transferred former Egyptian Special Forces officer turned Egyptian jihadist, Hisham al-Ashmawy, over to Egyptian authorities. Ashmawi was captured by LNA forces in Derna on 8 October 2018.On 30 May, alleged member of the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries Abdel Salam Abou Rzaiza (aka Bou Khashm) was killed in clashes against Libyan National Army (LNA) forces on Tripoli Airport Road, in southern Tripoli. Abou Rzazia is said to have been a member of the SCBR “Warrior Brigade.”Abou Rzazia was reported to have been a member of the Rafallah al-Sahati battalion and participated in the clashes against the forces under the command of Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi from 2014 through to 2016.
Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: al-Qā’idah’s General Command — Support and Guidance to Our People in Algeria, Sudan, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Morocco
__________________
Source: Telegram
To inquire about a translation for this statement for a fee email: [email protected]
On 9 April, IS claimed responsibility for an attack on the town of Fuqaha, in the southern Jufra region. Arriving in as many as 15 vehicles, IS cut off communications to the town, burnt down several houses and executed the head of the municipal guard. Three civilians who had been released from captivity in Ghaduwwa were killed in the incident. In their claim of responsibility, IS said the attack was a part of the “battle of revenge for al-Sham.”
On 1 April, the Misrata Security Directorate reported that its Bomb Disposal Unit had disposed of four tonnes of unexploded ordinances (UXOs) planted by IS in east Sirte in 2016. On 28 March, the Mayor of Sirte, Mukhtar al-Madani, met with representatives of the Danish De-mining Group (DDG) to establish teams to inspect former conflict zones associated with the 2016 IS conflict in order to detected UXOs. On 28 March, a Libyan news media outlet published the testimony of a civilian kidnapped by IS fighters late last year and held captive in a ‘prison’ on a farm in the Ghaduwwa area before being rescued by security forces. The individual recounts being taken in vehicles through the Harouj area and stopping throughout the journey to bury mines. The captive identified the leader of the IS group that kidnapped them as being a ‘Yemeni emir’ who has vowed to launch more raids on Fuqaha. On 25 March, the Sabratha Security Directorate reported it had arrested a suspected IS member. The individual is to be prosecuted but no other information is available at this time. On 9 April, unconfirmed reports suggest Abrek Maazak, also known as “Abrek the Egyptian,” has been released from prison and is participating in the clashes in Tripoli. Maazak is a founding member of Ajdabiya Revolutionaries Shura Council, an Islamist brigade formerly linked with Ansar Al-Sharia and the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council. Maazak had been arrested, along with Saadi Abdullah Abukzim al-Noufali, in October 2017 by Misrata security forces. On 29 March, two al-Qaeda members from Derna were reported to have been arrested in Misrata. The individuals are said to have participated in fighting in Syria with Katibat al-Batar.A weekly update of IS’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 IS in Libya this week, click here, and to read about the developments within the anti-IS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here. To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on IS in Libya report, click here.
On 22 March, Libyan media outlets reported the Special Deterrence Force (Rada) had arrested a notable IS fighter from Sirte, Ahmed Masoud Ammari. Ammari is thought to have been arrested earlier in the week.
On 22 March, a former local security force member thought killed by IS was found dead near al-Bartamah.
On 21 March, the Sirte Protection Force (SPF) disposed of three unexploded ordinances suspected of being from when IS had control of the city. The UXO’s were discovered near the Red Crescent Society headquarters.
A weekly update of IS’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 IS in Libya this week, click here, and to read about the developments within the anti-IS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here. To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on IS in Libya report, click here.
On 13 March, Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) arrested a six member terrorist cell after conducting raids in the Casablanca area. A statement from the ministry of interior said that one of the terror suspects had been previously imprisoned over connections to IS in Libya.
On 8 March, French newspaper Liberation published an article based on French General Directorate of Internal Security documents and other sources suggesting that a senior figure of IS may have visited Libya for a short period of time in April 2017. The individual, Abu Luqman (Abu Ayub al-Ansari), was appointed the head of the Amniyat – IS intelligence services – in March 2017. It has been alleged that he travelled to Libya in April 2017 to help reorganize the group after their removal from Sirte in December 2016.
A weekly update of IS’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 IS in Libya this week, click here, and to read about the developments within the anti-IS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here. To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on IS in Libya report, click here.
On 7 March, a gang of five men suspected of having connections to Islamic State were arrested as they reportedly attempted in to ‘infiltrate’ Tripoli. Reports suggest three of those arrested were dressed as women.
On 6 March, Bosnian security services released a statement indicating that Nusret Imamovic, the country’s most wanted terrorists and one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, had arrived in Libya sometime in February after having escaped Syria where fought along with Jabhat al-Nusrah. Imamovic travelled to Syria in 2013 where he joined the al-Nusra Front.A weekly update of IS’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 IS in Libya this week, click here, and to read about the developments within the anti-IS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here. To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on IS in Libya report, click here.
On 28 February, IS published its al-Naba newsletter no. 171, which featured an article titled “The fate of Sirte is not the fate Derna.” The article is critical of the al-Qaeda aligned groups who occupied Derna along with IS till the latter was expelled from the city in July 2015.
On 26 February, al-Qaeda affiliated armed groups mobilized 130km east of Misrata according to Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesperson, Ahmed al-Mesmari. Al-Mesmari claimed the LNA’s Air Force would undertake strikes on their positions.A weekly update of IS’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 IS in Libya this week, click here, and to read about the developments within the anti-IS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here. To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on IS in Libya report, click here.
On 26 February, Tunisian security forces captured IS member, Hicham Krouma, who is suspected of being involved in a several of attacks and assassinations in Tunisia as well as abroad. Krouma is said to have spent time in Derna as well as in Raqqa, Syria.
On 26 February, security forces in Sirte arrested IS member Ibrahim Mohammed Saleh Al-Qaziri, at his home in Sirte. Al-Qaziri is believed to have been responsible for broadcasting the IS radio station “al-Tawhid” in 2015 and 2016.
A weekly update of IS’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 IS in Libya this week, click here, and to read about the developments within the anti-IS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here. To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on IS in Libya report, click here.
