Eye on ISIS in Libya

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: July 30

Posted on July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 by Aaron Y. Zelin

On 26 July, the LNA announced the arrest of an alleged member of the Islamic State’s (IS) religious police, Atiya Abdul Hamid Shalawi, in the Shiha neighbourhood of Derna. Shalawi was arrested in an ambush at dawn as he was trying to enter the city.

On 29 July, the 24^th report of the UN’s ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida/Taliban Monitoring Team was published. The reported stated that IS activity in southern Libya had “gained momentum as a consequence of the preoccupation of the Libyan National Army with the battle around Tripoli.” Despite being removed from Libya’s coastal areas, IS fighters continue to be “a significant threat in the subcostal region, from south of the oil fields in the east to the boarders with Algeria in the west.” The reported also noted that the groups numbers had dropped to low hundreds and that “the only non-Libyan in the top leadership of IS is Libya is Iraqi national Abu Moaz al-Tkriti (not listed), while the rest of the leadership are Libyan nationals.”

On 4 July, security forces in Sirte allegedly arrested a suspected IS member. The individual was allegedly planning to organise and undertake a terror attack.

Other Jihadi Actors

On 24 July, the Misratan Joint Security Force undertook a dawn raid against alleged al-Qaeda leaders in an undisclosed suburb of Tripoli. The GNA’s interior ministry stated that those arrested were connected to attacks launched in Tripoli. The primary target for the raid was an Algerian national dubbed “al-Chaoui” along with several other Libyans. The names and the total number of those arrested have not been officially disclosed. Weapons and documents for producing explosives were reportedly discovered.

A weekly update of ISIS’s actions, the Western response, and developments pertaining to Libya’s other militias are available by subscribing here. To read about Western countries’ responses to ISIS in Libya this week, click here. To read their explanation of the developments within the anti-ISIS Coalition of Libyan militias, click here.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: July 23

Posted on July 24, 2019July 24, 2019 by Aaron Y. Zelin

IS in Action

On 17 July, Hashem Abedi, the brother of the suicide bomber Salman Abedi who blew himself up at a concert the British city of Manchester in May 2017, was extradited from Libya to the UK. A spokesperson for the Special Deterrence Force (Rada), who had detained Hashem in Tripoli, confirmed his extradition. Hashem is wanted on charges of murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to cause an explosion. Abedi is likely to appear before the Westminster Magistrates Court after questioning.

On 11 July, IS released its al-Naba newsletter no 190, which featured a eulogy for Abu Assem al Sudani (aka Mohamed Bin Ahmed al-Falata). The Sudanese national was allegedly one of the ISIS Libya’s media officers and was killed fighting against LNA force in southern Libya. He is thought to have documented the groups June 2018 attack on the Qanan Police Station, close to Ajdabiya.

On 9 July, the Shahat CID arrested a suspected IS member, Ayoub Salah Abdul Aziz al-Alsoinai. The CID claims al-Alsoinai confessed to murdering several military and police officers.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: July 9

Posted on July 10, 2019July 12, 2019 by Aaron Y. Zelin

IS in Action

On 6 July, the Islamic State’s (IS) Libya ‘wilayat’ (province) released a 4:52 minute video titled, “And the Best Outcome Is for the Righteous” where they renewed their pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi following his order for obedience from all of IS’s external provinces. The video marks the seventh cross-provincial series entry for IS. The video features as many as 68 fighters and 12 armed vehicles. The group’s leader Abu Mus’ab al-Libi narrates the video, whom it has been suggested is the eastern IS leader Mahmoud Barassi.

On 4 July, security forces in Sirte allegedly arrested a suspected IS member. The individual was allegedly planning to organize and undertake a terror attack.

Other Jihadi Actors

On 6 July, Benghazi Shura Council militia forces were observed moving within the vicinity of Sirte.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: July 2

Posted on July 3, 2019July 3, 2019 by Aaron Y. Zelin

IS in Action

On 26 June, the US Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Paul Selva, reportedly told a group of reporters in Washington that the US administration is seeing a “small resurgence of those [IS] camps in the central region” following the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) assault on the capital in April. Selva also alleged that certain Tuareg groups were “helping out the IS militants and moving people back and forth across the border to the south.” Selva suggested the LNA and the Government of National Accord (GNA) had been “keeping a lid on IS for their own individual interest for a fair period of time”, yet he was concerned that IS might become a “third party in the fight in Libya.”

Other Jihadi Actors

On 23 June, unconfirmed reports suggested a prominent Al-Qaeda member, Adel Al-Hanashi, has been fighting amongst GNA-aligned forces against the LNA in the Tripoli suburb of Aziziyah. Al-Hanashi is said to have lived in Yemen in the 90’s and then under the name of “Rabee al-Janzouri” travelled to Afghanistan where he joined Al-Qaeda.

To read all four sections of this week’s Eye on ISIS in Libya report, click here.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: June 25

Posted on June 26, 2019June 27, 2019 by Aaron Y. Zelin

ISIS in Action On 23 June, IS published its latest al-Naba newsletter no. 187, which included details of its clashes with Libyan National Army (LNA) forces west of the Harouj mountains. IS claimed to have killed as many as 50 LNA fighters from five separate battalions. In an infographic published on 21 June, the group claimed 3 attacks and resulting in 53 casualties in its “Libya Wilayat” between 14 and 20 June.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: June 18

Posted on June 19, 2019June 22, 2019 by Aaron Y. Zelin

ISIS In Action =&1=&

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 10^th 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.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: June 5

Posted on June 5, 2019June 5, 2019 by Aaron Y. Zelin

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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.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: April 9

Posted on April 10, 2019April 11, 2019 by Aaron Y. Zelin

IS in Action

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.

Other Jihadi Actors

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.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: March 26

Posted on March 27, 2019 by libyaanalysis

IS in Action

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.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: March 19

Posted on March 20, 2019 by libyaanalysis

IS in Action

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.

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