Islamic State Resurfaces in Libya
The terrorist Islamic State assaulted Wednesday a checkpoint of the Libyan National Army, a first incident of its kind in several months.
While the two main governments in Libya have recently concluded a ceasefire and the frequency of fighting has drastically decreased, the Islamic state has resurfaced, attacking a checkpoint of the Libyan National Army, commanded by khalifa Haftar.
The attack that took place in the town of Al Joufra, located in the southeast of the country, left nine soldiers of Khalifa Haftar’s army killed. They were summarily slaughtered and some were decapitated.
At least two civilians were also killed in the assault, according to Libyan rescue elements.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack and announced that it killed and wounded 21 soldiers.
After it was expelled from Syrte, Benghazi and other cities on the Libyan coast, the terrorist group redeployed to the south of the country, where the presence of the military is less heavy.
The region has not witnessed this type of incidents since last May, when the IS group staged an attack that killed about 100 LNA members.
Haftar as well as his political supporter Speaker of the House of Representative, Ageela Saleh, condemned the onslaught and vowed to respond without mercy.
Prime Minister Faiez Serraj also denounced the terrorist attack while calling for the establishment of a unified Libyan army to address the scourge of terrorism.