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NATO do nothing I hope.
[/CENTER]In a briefing at the Pentagon, Army Gen. David Rodriguez said the population of ISIS fighters in Libya is estimated to be between 4,000 and 6,000, roughly double what it was a year and a half ago, according to U.S. intelligence estimates. But despite this, the U.S. would maintain a policy of limited airstrikes on ISIS targets in Libya, going after only those leaders and groups that posed imminent threats to U.S. personnel and interests, he said. Rodriguez noted that the Nov. 13 airstrike on ISIS leader Abu Nubil in the city of Derna, the first such strike against an Islamic State leader in Libya, was one example of U.S. action against an imminent threat. Another was the series of airstrikes on a militant training camp in the seaside Libyan town of Sabratha in February. The camp reportedly housed a fighter from Tunisia who had planned a pair of attacks on Western tourists in his home country.
The town of Sirte remains the largest stronghold for ISIS fighters within Libya, though militants also maintain a presence in the cities of Benghazi, Derna and Sabratha, Rodriguez said. The population of those loyal to the Islamic State in Libya includes foreign fighters who flow back and forth across northern Africa and deploy to Iraq and Syria, as well as some who have returned from those regions. "And then there's another phenomenon to Libya, which is some [fighters] that just moved over and pledged allegiance to ISIS that were already there," he said. While it's clear, Rodriguez said, that the ISIS fighters in Libya want to attack targets in the West just as those from the main branch of the extremist group do, he maintained that the threat these fighters posed was not as advanced as it was in other regions.
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Fewer of the fighters are "homegrown" as they are in Iraq and Syria, he added, and the militants faced additional opposition from the Libyan population, which tended to oppose outside influences. "The top concern about that presence is really the challenge it presents for any movement forward for the Government of National Accord so that they can reduce the chaos there," Rodriguez said. The Government of National Accord was formed in December with the endorsement of the United Nations Security Council. That interim government is now working with local militias to develop allegiances. These militias have challenged ISIS forces on the ground, Rodriguez said, and have had some success in limiting the growth of the extremist movement. "It will really be determined by how well and effective those militias support the GNA that really makes the difference in the end," he said.
It's possible the U.S. may increase airstrikes on ISIS targets in Libya in the future, after the interim government gains stability, Rodriguez said, but that is dependent on the will of the government itself. "The U.S. has said they'll support the Government of National Accord ... and that will be determined by the Government of National Accord and the international community, how that moves forward," Rodriguez said. Rodriguez delivered the brief as he nears the end of his tenure as head of AFRICOM. He entered the position in April 2013 as the third commander since the command stood up in 2006. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Marine Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, now the director for Joint Force Development on the Joint Staff, will be tapped to replace Rodriguez at the post.
ISIS Population Doubles in Libya | Military.com
Nato removed the legitimate government and replaced it with Al-Qaeda groups/ISIS.NATO do nothing I hope.
Since when is Libya in NATO. Question should be about the U.N.
It should go back to hell where it came from. Nobody needs it.What should NATO do
Militants from so-called Islamic State (IS) have been pushed out of the key eastern city of Derna, a rival Islamist group has said. IS "have all left Derna - they have no presence here anymore", Hafeth al-Dabaa, a spokesman for Derna Mujahideen Shura Council (DMSC), told the BBC. The al-Qaeda linked DMSC is an umbrella group for local militias. Derna has seen a three-way conflict between IS, DMSC and forces loyal to Libya's eastern government. Since 2014, Libya has had two competing governments - one in the capital Tripoli, and another in the eastern city of Tobruk. A new UN-brokered unity government is trying to restore peace in the country, which has been ravaged by conflict since the fall of Col Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Army raids
The DMSC's claim has not been independently verified. Mr Dabaa said that five DMSC fighters and six civilians had been killed in fighting in Derna's Fatayiah area in the past 24 hours. Pictures on social media websites have been circulating since Wednesday, showing Derna residents celebrating in the port city. "Things are calm today (Thursday), and life feels normal, the only real problem is there is no cash in banks," one Derna resident told the BBC. "It was intense yesterday in Fatayiah with the DMSC battling IS, and there was also some bombardment by the air force in the city - today the DMSC can be seen manning checkpoints throughout the city." The resident was referring to overnight air strikes carried out by the forces loyal to the eastern government.
Islamic State militants in the Libyan town of Sirte
Mr Dabaa said the city prison that held suspected IS militants had been bombed. The spokesman added that some of the inmates had managed to escape but most of them were later recaptured. Army spokesman Abdulkarim Sabra said the air strikes had targeted the DMSC in Derna's Sayeda Khadija neighbourhood and at Bishr prison, Reuters reports. IS established a base in Derna in October 2015 and fully controlled the city until June that year. Derna was a jihadist stronghold in the 1980s and 1990s during the insurgency against Col Gaddafi.
Analysis: Rana Jawad, BBC North Africa correspondent
Rather than becoming a unifying cause as the United States and Europe have hoped, the fight against the jihadi group threatens greater fragmentation in Libya, which has been torn apart among rival militias, tribes, governments and parliaments since the 2011 downfall of longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in a NATO-backed rebellion. Each of the rival powers see capturing Sirte from the militants as a way to gain advantage over the other, seize control of vital oil facilities nearby and gain legitimacy in the eyes of the international community.
One of the two rivals is Khalifa Hifter, the army chief based in the east whose forces have been battling Islamic militias the past two years in the eastern cities of Benghazi and Darna. Backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, he is considered a hero in the east. But he is widely despised in western Libya, where his opponents depict him as a would-be dictator along the lines of Gadhafi. The other power are the militias of Misrata, Libya's third largest city, which have been the dominant force in the west since Gadhafi's fall and are bitterly opposed to Hifter. "It's now clear Misrata and Hifter will compete over Sirte in order to establish who rules really in Libya," Mattia Toaldo, a Libya specialist at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told The Associated Press in an email interview.
The moves on Sirte threaten to further undermine Fayez Serraj, head of what is meant to be a national unity government envisaged under a U.N.-brokered deal reached after months of negotiations. So far, with only patchy support from some factions, Serraj has been ensconced in a naval base in Tripoli since his return to the country in March, unable to exercise much power beyond his office walls - much like his predecessors. In a televised speech last week, Serraj condemned any unilateral assault on the Islamic State group stronghold, insisting any move to retake Sirte should be led by his administration. "We will not let the battle to liberate Sirte turn into a political bargaining," he said.
But Serraj has no real forces under his control. So he appears to be aligning with Misrata to thwart Hifter, who rejects Serraj's government because the U.N.-brokered deal requires Hifter's removal as head of the military. On Thursday, Serraj ordered formation of a command that would nominally lead any Sirte operation, most of them army officers from Misrata. More than a year ago, Islamic State group militants captured Sirte, located at around the midpoint of Libya's long Mediterranean coast. Though the jihadis - many of whom are from Tunisia - have had little success at expanding their territory, their presence has raised alarm that they could take advantage of Libya's chaos to create a foothold.
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There are signs that Nigeria’s Boko Haram is sending fighters to join the Islamic State (IS) group in Libya and of increased cooperation between the two groups, a senior US official said on Friday. Nigeria has asked the US to sell it aircraft to fight Boko Haram, which has been waging a seven-year insurgency in the north and last year pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group, which is active in Syria, Iraq and Libya. Little is known about the extent of cooperation between the two extremist groups. However, Western governments worry that the Islamic State group’s growing presence in North Africa and ties with Boko Haram could herald a push south into the vast, lawless Sahel region and create a springboard for wider attacks.
US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there were “reports” that Boko Haram fighters were going to Libya, where the Islamic State group has established a large presence, taking advantage of security chaos. “We’ve seen that Boko Haram’s ability to communicate has become more effective. They seem to have benefited from assistance from DAESH,” he said, using a term for the Islamic State group based on its Arabic acronym. There were also reports of material and logistical aid. “So these are all elements that suggests that there are more contacts and more cooperation, and this is again something that we are looking at very carefully because we want to cut it off,” Blinken told reporters in Nigeria.
Blinken said the US was helping Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram with armored vehicles, but he declined to comment on a request by the West African nation to sell it aircraft. US officials told reporters this month Washington wants to sell up to 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to Nigeria in recognition of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s army reforms. US Congress needs to approve the deal. The US had blocked arms sales to the nation during the tenure of former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, partly due to human rights concerns. Blinken said Nigeria had made several requests for military hardware. “We are looking very actively at these requests,” he said.
Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama earlier said the government had set up reporting mechanisms inside the military to monitor human rights which should convince Congress to approve the sale. Blinken said the military under Buhari had made “important efforts” to address human rights but the US was “troubled” by an Amnesty International report that said children were dying in military detention. The Nigerian Army has rejected the report. Blinken said Washington was also concerned about an alleged army massacre of Shiites in northern Nigeria in December last year, during which hundreds were killed, according to residents. He said a state commission to probe the killings should provide a “transparent and credible report.”
Boko Haram with IS in Libya: US - Taipei Times
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the nations would attempt to get an exemption from a United Nations arms embargo. Libyan Prime Minister Faiez Serraj has been pushing for Western powers to ease the embargo, which was instituted five years ago, but allowed for exceptions to secure the country and fight IS. Kerry said because IS, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh, is a "new threat" to Libya, it is "imperative" it be stopped.
The Government of National Accord "is the only entity that can unify the country," Kerry said after the talks with the other nations. "It is the only way to ensure that vital institutions ... fall under representative and acknowledged authority. "It is the only way to generate the cohesion necessary to defeat Daesh."
The prime minister of Libya's unity government, Fayez Sarraj, pleaded for help from other nations. "We are not talking about international intervention, we are talking about international assistance in training, equipping our troops and training our youths," he said. Four nations -- the United States, United Kingdom, France and Italy -- have said they only would ease the embargo and intervene militarily if the unity government forms a centralized military.
A joint statement from the countries at the summit noted Libya's role in Europe's migrant crisis. "We look forward to partnering with the GNA and neighboring countries to tackle the threat posed throughout the Mediterranean and on its land borders by criminal organisations engaged in all forms of smuggling and trafficking, including in human beings," it said. On Tuesday, the 7-nation Syria Support Group also will meet in Vienna to discuss the stalled talks, the cease-fire and the United Nation's troubled efforts in delivering humanitarian aid.
U.S., other nations back arming Libya's government to fight ISIS
Militia groups aligned to the UN-brokered Libyan Government of National Accord launched an operation in May to rid Sirte of IS and regain control of the city. The battle to expel the jihadists has achieved more success recently with the help of US air strikes. It has damaged the jihadists, but does not spell the end for their presence in the country.
Why is losing Sirte significant?
Losing Sirte is a blow to the group's image. In its propaganda, IS had repeatedly portrayed the city, close to western Europe, as a key position outside of its main areas of operation in Iraq and Syria. IS turned key buildings in Sirte into its own institutions and prisons, and used the local radio station to air its propaganda. The city, which was the birthplace of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, also brought IS close to Libya's oil-rich area.
Does IS have any other strongholds in Libya?
No, but it is still present elsewhere in the country. Its militants have long been fighting other forces in pockets of Libya's second city, Benghazi, and have recently launched several attacks on its western outskirts. IS took complete control of Sirte in June 2015 it was were pushed out of its initial stronghold of Derna in Libya's far east by rival militias aligned with al-Qaeda.
How many IS militants are there in Libya?
There are no reliable figures about the number of IS militants in Libya but it is estimated that the group has about 5,000 fighters in the country, many of who were thought to have been deployed in Sirte.
What might IS do now?
Caught on the back foot, the group may initially dissolve into desert areas and revert to earlier tactics. Before it lost Derna, the group made its presence felt elsewhere in Libya by carrying out repeated bombings in the key cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, as well as of oil installations partly run by Western companies. And now, putting up resistance as it loses the battle in Sirte, IS has again been employing suicide bombings as a means of attack.
Where might they go next?
ISIS is on the brink of being kicked out of the coastal Libyan city of Sirte -- the extremist group's most significant stronghold outside Syria and Iraq. Forces loyal to the the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, already in control of most of the city, liberated one of only three remaining districts under ISIS control on Tuesday, a security official told CNN Wednesday.
Government of National Accord forces advance into an ISIS-held district of Sirte
Col. Ismail Shukri, head of Intelligence for the Tripoli government in Misrata -- 167 miles (270km) to the north-west of Sirte -- told CNN their forces had captured a neighborhood from ISIS in Sirte designated "District 2," leaving only "Districts 1 and 3" under ISIS control. "Now there is ongoing fighting in one part of District 1. Districts 1 and 3 are both residential areas adjacent to each other and we will soon advance on them," he said. "There are about 150 to 200 terrorists still in these districts," he added. "There is no room for them to escape. They will fight until the last bullet. They had an opportunity to escape earlier but now they are surrounded." He added that the operation has air support from the US-led coalition.
Fierce resistance
Libyan forces started the campaign to liberate the Mediterranean city -- best known as Moammar Gadhafi's hometown before it fell into the hands of ISIS -- three months ago. The operation has not been easy, however, with Libyan forces encountering fierce resistance, including numerous suicide car bombs. The extremist group gained a foothold in the country in a power vacuum that hasn't been filled since collapse of Gadhafi's regime collapsed in 2011.
Government of National Accord forces have been fighting in Sirte for three months.
Following the Arab Spring, there were hopes that Libya would follow a more democratic path like its neighbor, Tunisia. But warring factions soon split over how to run the country, and civil war ensued. Two rival sides claimed to be the rightful leaders before signing a U.N.-backed peace deal in December. US officials estimate there are 4,000 to 6,000 ISIS militants in the country.
Libya: ISIS all but defeated in key city - CNN.com
2They said forces led by General Khalifa Hifter, who heads the Libyan National Army, took over the Ras Lanuf and al-Sidra terminals on Libya's Mediterranean coast and were battling militias at a third terminal, al-Zueitina. The majority of Libya's oil exports went through the three terminals before a militia known as Petroleum Facilities Guards seized them about two years ago.
The return of the oil terminals could help Libya recover from the turmoil that has gripped the country since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Moammar Gadhafi. The resumption of oil exports would also help address Libya's severe cash crunch. The officials said there were no casualties among the attacking forces and that the militiamen at the three facilities did not offer much resistance.
The attack took place on the eve of a major Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha, which begins on Monday. "Many of them (militiamen) abandoned their weapons to escape or turned themselves in," said Brig. Gen. Ahmed al-Mosmary, a spokesman for Hifter's forces. "We will continue to move till we secure the whole area." Hifter's forces also moved against two areas in Benghazi that remain under militia control. Al-Mosmary said there was also little confrontation from the militiamen there, but that land mines were slowing down the advancing troops.
Hifter enjoys the support of several Arab nations, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, as well as European nations like France. He is allied with the parliament based in eastern Libya, which refuses to recognize a newly-formed, UN-backed government. Libya has been split between rival parliaments and governments, each backed by a loose array of militias and tribes. Western nations view the UN-brokered government as the best hope for uniting the country.
Libyan troops recapture key oil terminals from militia
Forces led by Gen. Khalifa Hifter said late Sunday that they had seized the Zueitina terminal from a militia known as the Petroleum Facilities Guards, hours after capturing the nearby terminals of Ras Lanuf and al-Sidra. Most of Libya's oil exports went through the three terminals before the militia seized them more than two years ago. Hifter's army units urged the state-run oil corporation, which is based in Tripoli, to resume oil exports.
Libya drifted into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, and today is split between rival parliaments and governments in the east and west, each backed by a loose array of militias and tribes. Hifter enjoys the support of the internationally-recognized parliament, which meets in the east. The parliament has refused to approve the formation of a U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, in the west, in part because of differences over Hifter's future role in Libya. The capture of the oil terminals could strengthen Hifter's hand, making it more difficult to ignore demands from him and others in the east for more clout in a power-sharing government.
The U.N.-brokered presidency council - which is tasked with forming a unity government- said late Sunday that the takeover by Hifter's forces is "contradicting the path of reconciliation and frustrating Libyans." The nine-member council is divided between supporters and opponents of Hifter. Martin Kobler, the U.N. envoy to Libya, expressed concern over the general's seizure of the terminals. He later called for a cease-fire and recognition of the U.N.-brokered government. Libyan forces loyal to the U.N.-backed government are currently battling a powerful Islamic State affiliate in the central city of Sirte with the help of U.S.-led airstrikes.
The U.S. and other Western nations view the U.N.-backed government in the capital as the best hope for unifying Libyans and defeating the extremist group. Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told reporters on Monday during a visit to Cyprus that Rome had agreed to a request from the Libyan unity government to send a military hospital, "which obviously will have its protection," the Italian news agency ANSA reported. Asked about media reports that some 200 Italian paratroopers could be deployed to protect the hospital, Gentiloni replied that more details will be announced later by the Italian defense minister.
News from The Associated Press
Over the past two days, forces led by brigades from Misrata have pressed further into Sirte's neighborhood Number Three, advancing building by building as they try to finish a five-month-old campaign. Islamic State now controls a residential strip of less than 1 km long in their former stronghold. The International Medical Corps, which has been assisting Libyans who have fled Sirte, said once Islamic State was ousted from the city, government and aid agencies would face a huge challenge rebuilding infrastructure and re-establishing services. "Sirte is a collapsed city," said Claudio Colantoni, the International Medical Corps' country director for Libya. "The situation is dramatic. The health system is completely collapsed, there are no working hospitals, the needs are at 360 degrees," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an phone interview.
Problems were magnified by political divisions within the country, Colantoni added. "It will be very difficult to cope with this kind of challenge if Libya doesn't find a way to find a political appeasement," he said. The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) has so far struggled to exert its authority and recently saw a rival eastern commander, Kahlifa Haftar, seize some of Libya's major oil ports, one of which is less than 200 km from Sirte. An estimated 90,000 people, about three quarters of the city's population, have fled Sirte since it was taken over by Islamic State last year, according to the United Nations. Military operations to oust the jihadist group triggered new displacement, while also leading to the return of many families to areas cleared of militants, the U.N. relief agency said in September.
Those who have fled the area have reported severe shortages of food and medicines as well as lootings, public beheadings, "crucifixions" on scaffolding and abductions, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. Colantoni said fighting resulted in large numbers of people requiring treatment for wounds as well as psychosocial support. He said the area around Sirte remained too volatile for the International Medical Corps to deliver aid or open a field hospital. "For any form of intervention to be carried out the situation needs to be stabilized," Colantoni said.
Residents in Libya's Sirte face 'collapsed' health system, food shortages: charity
