Category: Libya

IS in Action On 2 May, at least two suicide bombers blew themselves up while multiple gunmen assaulted the Libyan electoral commission headquarters in Tripoli. According to Libyan officials at least 12 people have been killed and several more injured. IS has claimed responsibility for the attack, naming the suicide bombers as Abu Ayub and Abu Tawfik.

On the 26 April, Sirte security forces found a body in an orange jumpsuit, thought to have been killed by IS. It is unclear if the body was from a recent killing or from when IS controlled the city up until late 2016.

Other Jihadi Actors On 23 April, reports suggest the al-Qaeda affiliated jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia (AS) were involved in clashes between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the Derna Mujahedeen Shura Council (DMSC) west of Derna near Wadi al-Arqub. This follows an arrest by the LNA earlier in the month on 12 April of an AS figure from Sirte named Salem Abdul Qaway al-Gaddafi while hiding in the Jufra area. On 23 and 25 April, LNA sources report that the Derna Mujahadeen Shura Council (DMSC) conducted two operations against LNA positions west and south of Derna respectively, with the latter killing two LNA fighters after their tank was destroyed by a pre-planted mine. 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, and to read about 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.

Other Jihadi Actors On 12 April, Libyan National Army (LNA) forces arrested an Ansar al-Sharia (AS) figure from Sirte named Salem Abdul Qaway al-Gaddafi while hiding in the Jufra area. On 27 May 2017, AS officially announced that it had disbanded itself. AS’s leadership and fighting force had been decimated due to three years of fighting against the Libyan National Army (LNA). On 14 April, the Libyan National Army (LNA) Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Abdurrazaq al-Nadhouri, issued “final readiness” orders to LNA troops station near Derna heralding an impending assault on the city controlled by the Derna Mujahedeen Shura Council (DMSC). This followed a meeting of the LNA’s top brass at Labraq airbase that included Nadhouri, commander of the LNA’s al-Saiqa Special Forces led by Wanis Bukhamada, commanding officer of the Karama Operations Room Brigadier General Abdul Salam al-Hassi, and other senior LNA military officials. 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, and to read about 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.