ISIS claims Libyan police center bombing
The group said one of its militants had died carrying out the suicide bomb attack
ISIS has claimed responsibility for a suicide truck bombing on a Libyan police training center on Thursday that killed at least 47 people in the worst militant attack since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
ISIS fighters have expanded their presence in the North African state, taking advantage of turmoil to control the city of Sirte and launch attacks on oilfields and key oil ports.
“This operation is one in a series of the battle of Abu al-Mughira al-Qahtani, which will not stop until we liberate all Libya,” ISIS’s Tripoli militancy said in a statement.
The group said one of its militants had died carrying out the suicide bomb attack, but Libya authorities have so far not confirmed that detail.
The truck bomb exploded at the police training center in the coastal town of Zliten just as hundreds of recruits were gathered there for a morning meeting. More than 100 people were also wounded, many by shrapnel.
Since a NATO-backed revolt ousted Gaddafi, Libya has slipped deeper into turmoil with two rival governments and a range of armed factions locked in a struggle for control of the OPEC state and its oil wealth.
In the chaos, ISIS militants have grown in strength, targeting Tripoli and also the OPEC nation’s oil infrastructure, including this week’s shelling of two major oil export terminals in the east.
Western powers are pushing Libya’s factions to back a U.N.-brokered national unity government to join forces against ISIS militants, but the agreement faces major resistance from several factions on the ground.
-
U.N. envoy urges Libya rivals to end bloodshed
The U.N.’s envoy for Libya held talks in Tripoli seeking to encourage the administration there to commit to a national unity government Middle East -
U.N. Libya envoy push for national unity govt
Libya has been in chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Qaddafi, with armed factions battling for territory Middle East -
Libya ‘will hold off’ call for strikes against ISIS
Libya’s U.N. ambassador said his country will hold off asking nations like the U.S. and Britain to intervene with airstrikes against ISIS in Libya Middle East -
U.N. Security Council endorses Libyan peace agreement
The resolution mandates that Libya’s future unity government should be the sole representative for the country Middle East -
U.N. works to ensure Libya unity govt security
The U.N. backed deal calls for a 17-member government, headed by businessman Fayez el-Sarraj as premier, based Libya’s capital Middle East -
Christmas carols bring solace to Libya’s fearful Christians
Since Qaddafi’s, the small community’s fears for its safety increased after militants claimed to have killed dozens of Christians in Libya this year Variety -
How Libya’s Derna is recovering after an ISIS takeover
The question now is, will this new unified government solve Libya’s deteriorating situation? Features -
Canada looking at ‘wider’ ISIS threats in Libya, Sinai
Canada was involved in the multinational force that ousted Qaddafi in 2011 Middle East