Video: Libya’s Islamist militants parade with ISIS flags
Libya’s Ansar al-Shariah have pledged allegiance to ISIS
Libya’s Islamist militant group Ansar al-Shariah has declared an “Islamic emirate” in the eastern city of Derna and pledged allegiance to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to media reports coming out from the North African Country.
A video posted on YouTube shows a military parade in Derna with militants holding ISIS flags and shouting pro-ISIS ISIS slogans.
Ansar al-Shariah, accused by Washington of killing U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi in 2012, held a rally on Sunday the city’s so-called “companions square” where it announced allegiance to ISIS, which declared an Islamic caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq.
On Saturday, the Libyan national army bombed positions of the militant group in Deran, reportedly killing several.
Ansar al-Shariah is also active in the eastern city of Benghazi, the cradle of the uprising against former strongman Muammar Qaddafi.
Benghazi is now regularly the scene not only of fighting but also the murders of members of the security forces, political activists and journalists.
Libya has been sliding into chaos since Qaddafi’s ouster three years ago, with interim authorities confronted by powerful militias that fought to oust him.
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