ISIS kills 32 soldiers of Libya’s unity government

At least 32 fighters loyal to Libya’s new Government of National Accord (GNA) have been killed and more than 50 others also sustained injuries in clashes with Daesh Takfiri terrorists and a car bombing near the northern seaport of Sirte, the terror group’s stronghold.

According to an unnamed Libyan military official, the car bomb attack occurred in Buairat el-Hassun, 60 kilometers (35 miles) west of Sirte, and the clashes took place during a Daesh raid on the newly liberated Abu Grein village, which lies 138 kilometers (85 miles) west of the seaport.

On Tuesday, GNA forces managed to liberate the village, which had fallen in the hands of the terror group on May 5. At least seven soldiers belonging to the GNA forces were killed during the operation and 15 others were wounded.

Libya has been struggling to contain Daesh, which has been increasing its presence in the North African country since the overthrow of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi back in 2011. Taking advantage of the political chaos, Daesh took control of Sirte in June 2015, almost four months after it announced its presence in the city, and made it the first city to be ruled by the militant group outside of Iraq and Syria.

A report released by the Human Rights Watch showed that Daesh has executed at least 49 people in Sirte over the past year.

Libya has had two rival governments since 2014, when politician Khalifa Ghweil and his self-proclaimed government seized control of the capital Tripoli with the support of militia groups, forcing the internationally-recognized government to move to the country’s remote eastern city of Tobruk.

However, they achieved a consensus on forming a unity government, the so-called GNA, last December after months of UN-brokered talks in Tunisia and Morocco, to restore order in the country.

The United States and its allies recently said they would send weapons to Libya in support of the fledgling unity government.


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