Islamic State says blows up two warplanes at seized Libyan base

[Hindustani78]

Thu Jun 11, 2015 10:24am EDT
Related: World, Libya
Islamic State says blows up two warplanes at seized Libyan base| Reuters

The militant group Islamic State said on Thursday it had blown up two warplanes at an air base it seized near the central Libyan city of Sirte.

The group published pictures on social media that it said showed the two destroyed two military aircraft parked in front of a hangar.

The Islamist rebel fighters seized Sirte's military and civilian airport two weeks ago, expanding the area it controls by exploiting a security vacuum in oil-producer Libya, where two governments are vying for power.

The militants had earlier this week seized a power plant in a western suburb of Sirte, completing a gradual takeover of the city that it began in February.

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Forces loyal to a self-declared government that controls the capital Tripoli had pulled out of the plant and air base.

Since the start of the year militants in Libya loyal to Islamic State have claimed responsibility for killing dozens of Egyptian and Ethiopian Christians and attacking Tripoli's luxury Corinthia hotel, embassies and oilfields.

Libya's internationally recognized government has been working out of the east of the country since losing control of Tripoli and western Libya in August, part of turmoil gripping Libya four years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elumami, Ayman al-Warfalli and Ahmed Tolba; writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Kevin Liffey/Hugh Lawson)

 

[Hindustani78]

A military vehicle for Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government is stationed in front of ruined buildings at the eastern frontline of fighting with Islamic State militants, in Sirte's neighbourhood 650, Libya, October 21, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

 

[Hindustani78]

Fighters from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government gather as they advance into the last area controlled by ISIS, in Sirte, Libya, October 14, 2016. (Reuters)

Media spokesman for the Libyan operation by the UN recognized government in Tripoli said that its forces found a new headquarters belonging to ISIS and found four small planes used for espionage, in addition to computers and documents pertaining to the militant group. No other details regarding the spy planes were given.

The spokesman said anti-ISIS fighting resumed on Friday morning after Libyan forces advanced from three axes towards Al-Jiza Al-Bahriya neighborhood which harbors militants.

Fourteen Libyan soldiers were killed and 33 others were killed following the clashes.

 

[Hindustani78]

Reuters / Monday, October 31, 2016
Fighters of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government take cover during a battle with Islamic State militants in Ghiza Bahriya district in Sirte, Libya. REUTERS/Hani Amara

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-security-idUSKBN13A2FU

An air strike targeting Islamist militants has killed at least seven people near the southwestern Libyan city of Sabha, a local official and media reports said on Tuesday.

Gunmen later seized the remains of the suspected militants from a morgue, said the official, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals.

The early morning strike hit three houses in Gardah, north-west of Sabha, destroying two of them and damaging the third, said the official.

It was not clear who carried out the strike, and military officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Forces on both sides of Libya's east-west political divide have used war planes to strike militant targets.

There were conflicting reports about whether the suspected militants were linked to al Qaeda or Islamic State, both of which have a presence in Libya's south.

Libyan news website Press Solidarity said the main target was a militant called Abdulrahman Belhaj Hesnawi, also known as Abu Talha al-Libi, though several reports said he was not among the dead.

The local official, from Gardah, said some of those killed were Libyan and some were foreign, and it was not known whether they included Hesnawi.

"After one or two hours a group of gunmen went to a local hospital in Adri, 35km (22 miles) from Gardah, and they seized the remains of the bodies," he said.

The U.S. has been carrying out air strikes against Islamic State in its former stronghold of Sirte, about 500km (310 miles) north of Gardah, since Aug. 1, and has also conducted several individual strikes against militant targets elsewhere in Libya.


Some Islamic State militants who were based in Sirte fled south into the desert when a campaign to oust them from the city began six months ago, according to Libyan officials.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world...ls-8-libyan-troops-near-benghazi_1959863.html
Benghazi: Libyan security and health officials say a suicide bomber has killed eight army troops near the eastern city of Benghazi.

The officials say the Sunday night counterattack in the besieged Ganfouda area also wounded another eight soldiers.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to talk to reporters.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement circulated online.

Army spokesman Ahmed al-Mosmari says a push to retake the district is in "its last stage, and terrorist group leaders are besieged inside."

Ganfouda is one of the last two extremist-held areas in the east besieged by Libyan army troops that answer to Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, who backs Libya's last elected parliament against rival militias loyal to the UN-backed government based in Tripoli.

 

[Jugger]

Wherever these ISIS go there is only death and destruction.

 

[50cent]

When Iraqi government does ruthless operation against them Trolls accuse them of sectarian jillings

 

[Hallian_Khan]

Wherever these ISIS go there is only death and destruction.

where these americans go there comes isis... they ruined peaceful country