Category: The Islamic State

ISIS in ACTION
A suspected Islamic State (ISIS) arms cache containing unguided air-to-ground bombs and fuel was reportedly found by Libyan National Army (LNA) units approximately 90km south of Nawfaliya, a town east of Sirte. On 11 February, Misrata’s Air Academy chief said that ISIS cells are regrouping in the regions south-west of Misrata, near Bani Walid. In Sebha, there were reports of 14 ISIS fighters with five ‘technicals’ –usually pick-up trucks with guns mounted on the back —  changing tyres in a local shop.
The process of resettling displaced families from Sirte is ongoing. On 10 February, the al-Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) operations room announced the beginning of the second stage of return for Sirte residents in the Third District. On 13 February, BM said that 585 families had returned to the Hay al-Gharbiya area (in the 700 residential area) south of Sirte, while 1025 families returned to the Third Residential area on the coast. However, Sirte remains highly contested in terms of politics and security. On 11 February, Sirte’s mayor and two of his assistants were kidnapped in Tripoli.
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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.
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ISIS IN ACTION
On 6 February, a video was published on Libyan social media showing the execution of Libyan National Army (LNA) fighter Suliman al-Hoty. His executioner is reportedly a well-known Islamic State (ISIS) fighter from Benghazi. In the video, al-Hoty is filmed inside a small hole. He tells his captor to ‘end it with honour’ then he is shot dead. The video went viral on Libyan social media sparking a wave of anger against Islamist factions and their supporters. The video is being seen as further proof of cooperation between the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council (BRSC) and ISIS. This follows the release of a series of videos reportedly found on the phones of dead jihadi fighters after the LNA advance in Ganfuda, which also purport to demonstrate this relationship.
On 4 February, displaced residents of Sirte began returning to the city after the Misratan-led al-Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) forces gave the all clear. On 31 January, BM published a plan for the return of residents to the city. They divided Sirte into 6 zones. The 700 district, south of the city, is the first return zone. BM forces continued to sweep the area south of Sirte last week for more IEDs and other security threats left behind by ISIS fighters, reclaiming a cache of rockets apparently used by ISIS. BM forces have also been accused of looting and seizing property in the city.here
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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.