Eye on ISIS in Libya

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: January 1

Posted on January 2, 2019 by libyaanalysis

On 27 December, IS’s al-Naba newsletter no. 162 outlined details of the group’s attack on Libya’s Foreign Ministry in Tripoli on 25 December that left three dead and twenty-one injured. The group claimed to have inflicted 31 casualties and vowed to extract revenge on those who fought against IS in Sirte.

On 23 December, thirty-four bodies of Ethiopian Christian nations killed by IS in 2016 were discovered in Sirte.

Other Jihadi Actors

On 24 December, the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) 73 Brigade clashed with Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) forces in Wadi Dinar, southeast of Bani Walid. Details of causalities remain unknown at this time. However, the Municipal Council of Bani Walid has denied the presence of BDB forces in the area.

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: December 25

Posted on December 26, 2018 by libyaanalysis

IS in Action

On 25 December, four IS fighters undertook a suicide attack on Libya’s foreign ministry in Tripoli, killing three people and wounding at least 21 more. The assault began when a white Hyundai sedan exploded outside the ministry’s back gate, killing the driver. Two attackers died when they detonated their suicide vests on the building’s second floor while another was shot dead by security guards. IS’s Amaq website claimed responsibility for the attack on 26 December.

The three victims have been identified as: Abdulrahman Mazoughi, the spokesperson for the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade; Ibrahim Sheiby, director of the ministry’s Islamic Affairs Department; and Hend Arnaouti, a ministry employee.

On 20 December, twelve Egyptian children whose parents fought with IS in Sirte were handed over by authorities under the auspices of the Red Crescent to the Egyptian government. The children are aged between 5 and 14 years old.

Other Jihadi Actors

On 19 December, the commander of the Libyan National Army’s Jabal al-Akhdat Military Region claimed that several “extremists” undertook a suicide bombing on the Port of Benghazi. Security forces responded and arrested multiple assailants. The affiliation of the attackers has not been disclosed.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: December 18

Posted on December 19, 2018 by libyaanalysis

IS in Action

On 13 December, the Rajban Security Directorate claimed to have discovered leaflets by IS threatening to undertake attacks and bombings in Rajban and Zintan. The targets listed include local Security Directorates, police stations, officials and security heads.

Other Jihadi Actors

On 17 December, heavy clashes occurred between Libyan National Army (LNA) forces and Derna Protection Force (DPF) remnants in eastern Derna. According to the spokesperson for the LNA’s 73 Infantry Brigade the fighting was most violent between the two opposing groups in over a month, with at least three LNA fighters killed.

On 11 December, the Benghazi Defence Brigade (BDB) took control of a checkpoint in Abu Grein, some 120 km west of Sirte.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: December 11

Posted on December 11, 2018 by libyaanalysis

IS in Action

On 8 December, IS executed six of the ten men they abducted from the town of Fuqaha on 28 October after their demands to release their comrades was rejected by the Libyan National Army (LNA).

On 3 December, IS released a eulogy for Abu Abdallah al-Ansar in its “Caravan for Martyrs”. Al-Ansar was a member of ISIS ‘s branch in eastern Libya, Wilayat Barqah.

Other Jihadi Actors

On 6 December, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released a statement denying any links to those killed in the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) air strikes on 29 November near al-Uwaynat.

On 29 November, AFRICOM, in coordination with the Government of National Accord (GNA), conducted an airstrike killing eleven AQIM members and destroying three vehicles near al-Uwaynat, close to the Algerian border, in southern Libya.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: December 4

Posted on December 5, 2018 by libyaanalysis

IS in Action

On 1 December, the Libyan National Army arrested five IS members in Ubari. The arrests were made while security forces patrolled the road between Ubari and Ghat. The five arrested were described as being of African decent.

On 29 November, IS released its Naba’ magazine No. 158. In the issue it detailed the group’s attack on the Libyan town of Tazirbu and threaten to undertake a “new approach” in their campaign against Libyan cities.

Other Jihadi Actors

On 29 November, US Africa Command (AFRICOM), in coordination with the Government of National Accord (GNA), conducted an airstrike killing eleven al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) members and destroying three vehicles near al-Uwaynat in southern Libya.

Local Tuareg communities have responded angrily to the strike, claiming some of those killed were not members of al-Qaeda but were former members of the Tiniri/Wadi Janub brigade in al-Uwaynat.

Libyan media outlets suggest that one of those killed in the airstrikes was Mussa Ala Toni al-Tarqqi, a former al-Bunyan al-Marous fighter who participated in the fighting against IS in Sirte in 2016. Al-Tarqqi was reported to be a prominent member of AQIM and a resident of the Sharab neighborhood of Ubari. He is said to have been involved in arms smuggling and other activities assisting AQIM financing.

On 1 December, a Benghazi Defense Brigade convoy of 40 vehicles was observed driving along the coastal road from Tawergha to Misrata.

The Benghazi Defence Brigade was formed in May 2016 to support the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council retake the city of Benghazi from the Libyan National Army (LNA). The group is comprised of anti-LNA army and police personnel as well as militants with diverse political backgrounds. The group includes hardliner Islamists. It was involved in clashes with the Misratan Third Force against LNA forces in southern Libya in 2017 and took part in Ibrahim Jadhran’s assault on the Oil Crescent in 2018.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: November 27

Posted on November 28, 2018 by user

IS in Action

On 23 November, Islamic State (IS) fighters launched an assault on the town of Tazirbu, an oasis in Libya’s south-east some 250km north-west of Kufra, leaving at least 8 people dead, 11 wounded and 17 kidnapped. Arriving in as many as 15 vehicles the assailants took over a police station for a brief period before withdrawing towards the al-Harouj mountains in Central Libya.

A joint force from the Libyan National Army (LNA) pursued the attackers and engaged them in Wadi al-Hatab, near Zillah. The clashes resulted in 12 IS fighters being killed and three abductees being released.

On 25 November, IS’s Amaq News Agency claimed responsibility for the incident, stating they had killed 29 LNA soldiers and captured multiple police officers, including two Libyan National Army officers. In its statement, IS suggested it fighters targeted particular individuals.

In contrast, the LNA denied that any of its members had been killed and claimed to have killed 18 “terrorists,” destroyed two of their armed vehicles and seized another two.

On 24 November, Special Deterrence Forces (RADA) arrested suspected IS leader Adel Adulhamid in Bani Walid after several hours fighting. Adulhamid is thought to have been involved in human fuel smuggling and returned to Bani Walid after IS lost control of Sirte in late 2016.

Other Jihadi Actors

On 17 November, the Libyan National Army (LNA) undertook three airstrikes targeting an “al-Qaeda-linked group” suspected to be the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB) at Sadada, near Misrata. The LNA claims the group were behind several recent attacks and that a significant number of vehicles and weapons were destroyed during the strikes.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: November 20

Posted on November 21, 2018 by user

IS in Action

On 19 November, IS members established a checkpoint along the Sirte-Benghazi coastal road in the Wadi al-Hunaywah area near Sirte. Locals reported that two cars bearing IS banners and masked men blocked the road and undertook identity checks.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: November 13

Posted on November 14, 2018 by user

IS in Action

IS has attempted to negotiate a prisoner exchange with Fuqaha residents according to multiple Libyan news outlets. Local sources report that the jihadist group will return 10 people it kidnapped during its raid on the town on 29 October for the release of two of its members. Details regarding the identities of the two IS operatives have not been released.

On 9 November, security forces in the al-Manshia area of Sebha allegedly captured IS fighters. Those arrested are reportedly connected to human and drug trafficking, as well as robbery.

Other Jihadi Actors

On 10 November, Misrata local security forces arrested two individuals connected to the Ajdabiya Revolutionaries Shura Council, an Islamist brigade formerly linked with Ansar Al-Sharia and the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council.

On 4 November, the Anti-IS Operations Room claimed to have arrested a member of the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council following clashes with the Anas Dabbashi Brigade in Sabratha last week.

Eye On Jihadis in Libya Weekly Update: November 6

Posted on November 6, 2018 by libyaanalysis

IS in Action On 3 November, IS fighters clashed with the Libyan National Army’s 128th Battalion near the al-Mabrouk oilfield south of Sirte. No causalities were reported. Other Jihadi Actors On 4 November, the Libyan National Army spokesperson, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Mesmari, stated that investigations into al-Qaeda affiliated Egyptian terrorist Hisham Ashmawi were ongoing. The spokesperson also denied that Ashmawi had been transferred to Egypt. 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: October 23

Posted on October 23, 2018 by libyaanalysis

IS in Action On 20 September, the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) 128th Battalion and the Tariq Ibn Ziyad Brigade uncovered an IS camp in a cave near Harawah village, east of Sirte. During the operation security forces cleared multiple vehicle borne improvised explosive devices. The operation was conducted following information provided by Masoud Belhassen al-Nawfali (aka Jema’a Masoud Al-Hassan Al-Qarqa’i), who was captured by the 128 Brigade on October 14. Al-Nawfali is thought to be the leader of IS in the Nawfaliyah area and believed to have been involved in attacks on LNA positions in and around the Nawfaliyah and Awjlah areas. On 16 October, local security forces undertook a raid in Bani Walid, arresting three suspected IS fighters. Other Jihadi Actors On 21 October, the Commander of the Training Wing of the Derna Police Institute, Colonel Faraj Mohammad Daoud al-Hassi, survived an assassination attempt by Derna Protection Force remnants outside his home in eastern Derna. Media outlets published photos that show al-Hassi with an apparent gunshot would through his hand. 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.

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