Islamic State Says It Attacked General Haftar's Forces In Libya

A member of the Libyan internationally recognised government forces fires during a fight with Eastern forces in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

BBC: Libya crisis: Islamic State group says it attacked Haftar camp

Islamic State group militants say they were behind a Saturday attack on a training camp for the forces of Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Hospital officials said nine people were killed in the attack in Libya's southern city of Sabha.

Gen Haftar's eastern forces took control of key areas in the oil-rich south during a January offensive.

They are now concentrated in the north west, where they are battling for control of the capital, Tripoli.

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More News On Islamic State Saying It Attacked General Haftar's Forces In Libya

IS group claims deadly attack on Haftar training camp in Libya -- France 24
Libyan officials: Militant attack kills 9 troops at LNA base -- FOX News/AP
Daesh attack on Haftar camp in south Libya kills 9 soldiers -- Arab News/Reuters
Libya: Nine dead in ISIL-claimed attack on Haftar's forces -- Al Jazeera
UN says nearly 400 killed by Libya fighting, 50,000 displaced -- Times of Malta/AFP
Fighting in southern Tripoli kills 187, more than 1,000 wounded: spokesman -- Reuters
Military stalemate, foreign players in Libya offensive -- AFP
UN-backed Libya government calls on Turkey for support -- Middle East Monitor
Libya crisis: The fight for Tripoli explained from the frontline -- BBC

This ISIS Fighter Uses A Shopping Cart For His Belt Fed Machine Gun

Ah, Libya... Land of wonders and shopping cart technicals pic.twitter.com/fL1DGTAf1f

— Hugo Kaaman (@HKaaman) February 26, 2019

Business Insider/Task & Purpose: An ISIS fighter in Libya turned a machine gun and a shopping cart into a new kind of fighting vehicle

We now know that you can set up a belt-fed machine gun on top of a shopping cart to make a mobile firing platform, but you probably won't be allowed to return the rig back to Target.

That knowledge comes courtesy of an ISIS fighter in Libya, who was spotted in one of the group's propaganda videos free-gunning as any smart shopper would.

Hugo Kaaman, a contributor to Jane's Terrorism & Insurgency Centre, recently tweeted a clip of the amazing find, which he told Task & Purpose came from ISIS video footage taken in Libya and released in May 2015.

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WNU Editor: You go to war with what you have.

Islamic State MIlitants Are Fleeing To Libya

Washington Times: Military heats up battle in Libya as Islamic State militants seek refuge

he U.S. military is ramping up operations and bombing raids against the Islamic State in Libya, where the terrorist group’s fighters have increasingly found refuge as their territorial base shrinks in Syria and Iraq.

U.S.-backed militias largely crushed the Islamic State’s Libya operation in late 2015, but signs that the group is gaining a new foothold in the North African nation began emerging last month. Images of Islamic State fighters moving through the vast deserts around their former stronghold in Libya’s northern coastal city of Sirte circulated through the terrorist group’s social media and online propaganda sites in mid-September.

Libya is seen as a promising base for the terrorist group because a deep factional split has prevented the creation of a functioning national government in Tripoli since the ouster of dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

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WNU Editor: The country covers a lot of territory .... it is divided and in chaos .... a perfect place for the Islamic State to hide and regroup.

U.S. Air Strikes Kill 17 Islamic State Militants In Libya

A US Air Force F-16 receives fuel from a fuel boom suspended from a US Air Force KC-10 Extender during mid-air refueling support to Operation Inherent Resolve over Iraq and Syria air space, March 15, 2017. PHOTO:REUTERS

CNN: US strikes Libya for first time under Trump

(CNN)The US military conducted airstrikes against ISIS fighters in Libya on Friday, the first time it has struck targets in the North African country since Donald Trump became President.

"In coordination with Libya's Government of National Accord and aligned forces, U.S. forces conducted six precision airstrikes in Libya against an ISIS desert camp on Friday," US Africa Command which oversees is troops in the region, told CNN in a statement.

The strikes killed 17 ISIS militants and destroyed three vehicles at the camp, located about 150 miles southeast of Sirte, the statement added.

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More News On Reports That U.S. Air Strikes Killed 17 Islamic State Militants In Libya

U.S. air strikes kill 17 Islamic State militants in Libya: U.S. military -- Reuters
US strikes IS camp in Libya, killing 17: official -- AFP
US drone strike on ISIS camp in Libya kills 17 militants, military says -- FOX News
US Kills 17 IS Militants in Libya -- VOA
US airstrikes hit Islamic State compound in Libya -- Stars and Stripes

Islamic State Tries To Regroup In Libya

ISIS still maintains strong presence in Libya, capitalizing on the chaos that has engulfed the country since 2011.

FOX News: ISIS, squeezed out of Iraq and Syria, now 'regrouping' in Libya, analysts say

As the Islamic State terror network loses territory across Iraq and Syria, analysts and experts assert that the terrorist outfit is increasingly capitalizing on the chaos of Libya, positioning the country as its point of resurgence.

The black-clad jihadist outfit is believed to be regrouping and recruiting in the rural regions south of the main east-to-west coastal highway and in the far-west town of Sabratha, which is poised just 60 miles from the Tunisian border, since being run out of its Libyan “caliphate” capital of Sirte late last year.

“The majority of their fighting force comes from Tunisia, so Sabratha is also a growing center,” prominent terrorism analyst Robert Young Pelton told Fox News. “ISIS in Libya can regenerate quickly.”

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WNU Editor: Groups like the Islamic Satte thrive in countries that are failed states .... and Libya is certainly one of those failed states.

How Drones Helped The U.S. Military Defeat The Islamic State In Libya

USA Today: How U.S. drones helped win a battle against ISIS for first time in Libya

WASHINGTON — A handful of drones controlled from the United States and a small force of offshore Marine aircraft played a decisive role in defeating Islamic State fighters in Libya last December, the most prominent example of how the U.S. military can help win a key battle from afar.

The four-month air campaign to drive militants from Sirte without committing large numbers of U.S. advisers or ground forces is being studied as a model for future U.S. military efforts against the Islamic State as its fighters are ousted from Iraq and Syria and seek refuge elsewhere.

The fighting in Sirte was in a densely packed city where nearly 70% of the drone missions were considered so close to friendly forces they needed special authorization.

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WNU Editor: Expect this strategy to combat the Islamic State/Al Qaeda/etc. to be applied everywhere (if not already).

Islamic State Regrouping In Libya

A fighter of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government waving a Libyan flag flashes victory sign as he stands atop the ruins of a house after forces finished clearing Ghiza Bahriya, the final district of the former Islamic State stronghold of Sirte, Libya December. REUTERS/Hani Amara

Reuters: Islamic State looks to regroup in Libya after losing Sirte

Islamic State has lost senior figures in an unsuccessful seven-month battle to defend its coastal stronghold in Libya, but there are already signs it will try to fight back through sleeper cells and desert brigades.

Libyan officials say hundreds of Islamic State militants may have escaped before the start of the battle for Sirte in May or during its early stages.

That has prompted fears of a counter-attack or insurgent campaign that could enable the militants to show they are still in business despite the rout, a heavy blow for a group that is also under intense military pressure in its core territory of Iraq and Syria.

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More News On What Is the Future For The Islamic State In Libya

ISIS Remains Threat in Libya Despite Defeat in Surt, US Officials Say -- New York Times
Islamic State loses its stronghold in Libya, but more chaos could soon follow -- Washington Post
Libya: what next after ISIL's defeat in Sirte? -- Euronews
Factbox: Key facts about Islamic State in Libya -- Reuters

Libyan Pro-Government Forces Have Capture The Islamic State Stronghold Of Sirte

Al Jazeera: Libyan forces claim control of ISIL stronghold of Sirte

Hundreds of loyalist troops and unknown number of ISIL fighters killed as pro-government forces seize coastal city.

Forces aligned to Libya's UN-backed national unity government have gained full control of Sirte after months of fighting, in a major blow to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in the country.

"Our forces have total control of Sirte," Reda Issa, a spokesman for pro-government forces, told AFP news agency on Monday. "Our forces saw Daesh totally collapse," he said referring to the Arabic name of ISIL.

The battle for the coastal city, which was the last significant territory held by ISIL, also known as ISIS, in Libya, cost the lives of hundreds of loyalist troops as well as an unknown number of ISIL fighters, Issa said.

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More News On Libyan Pro-Government Forces Capturing The Islamic State Stronghold Of Sirte

Libyan Forces Claim Full Control of Former Islamic State Stronghold Sirte -- WSJ
IS loses Libya bastion in major blow to jihadists -- AFP
Libyan pro-government forces say they have seized IS-held Sirte -- DW
Isis loses control of Libyan city of Sirte -- The Guardian
Libyan forces close to securing last Islamic State holdouts in Sirte: officials -- Reuters
Libyan forces capture 32 IS militants as they comb through last holdout in Sirte -- Libyan Express

The Battle For The ISIS Controlled Libyan City Of Sirte Continues

Fighters of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government rest after they recaptured houses from Islamic State militants in Ghiza Bahriya district in Sirte, Libya November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

Reuters: Libyan forces edge forward against Islamic State holdouts in Sirte

Libyan forces resumed their advance on Thursday against Islamic State militants holding out in a few streets in their former stronghold of Sirte, saying they had captured 25 houses and a stash of arms.

Backed by U.S. air strikes, the Libyan brigades have reduced the area held by the jihadists to a small patch of land near Sirte's Mediterranean seafront after a campaign of more than six months.

Lately, they say, they have been advancing with more caution in the Ghiza Bahriya district to limit casualties among their own fighters and among any hostages and families still held there.

"According to our information there are still civilians including women and children inside," Mohamed al-Gasri, a spokesman for the brigades, told private TV station Libya's Channel. "The instructions are not to rush in, in order to limit the damage."

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More News On The Battle For The ISIS Controlled Libyan City Of Sirte

Door-to-door fighting in Sirte (Video) -- Reuters
US Airstrikes Hit 34 Daesh Fighting Positions Near Libya’s Sirte -- Sputnik
Islamic State fighters remain in a few blocks of Sirte, Libya -- Long War Journal
The Islamic State still clings on to a few blocks in Sirte Libya -- Digital Journal
Libyan forces find 40 IS dead bodies in including children in Sirte -- Libyan Express
Libya: Sirte offensive six months on -- Africa News

Islamic State Close To Defeat In Libya's Sirte

Fighters of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government walk at the front line of fighting with Islamic State militants in Ghiza Bahriya district in Sirte, Libya November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

Reuters: Far from Mosul, Islamic State close to defeat in Libya's Sirte

After six months of heavy fighting, Libyan forces have advanced so deep into the strategic city of Sirte that they can pick out the Tunisian and Egyptian accents of their Islamic State enemies as they trade insults over the frontline.

Victory is imminent on this remote front of the war against Islamic State, with the last few militants staging a last stand in a small area of just one square kilometer (0.4 square mile), U.S. and Libyan officials say.

But the battle has been long and hard, and holds lessons for U.S. backed forces trying to force Islamic State out of the much larger Iraqi city of Mosul more than 2,500 km (1,500 miles) away.

"We faced unbelievable resistance. They won't leave their posts even when houses are collapsing on them," said Osama Issa, a 37-year-old businessman fighting with Libyan forces in Ghiza, the last neighborhood of Sirte that Islamic State holds.

"They know they will die anyway so they fight well."

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WNU Editor: They may get defeated in Sirte .... and I have been hearing the same story for the past 3 months .... but the problem is that the ideology that spawned the Islamic State is far from dead.

Why Is It Taking So Long To Defeat The Islamic State In Their Libyan Stronghold At Sirte

Washington Post: Why it’s taking so long for the U.S. and its allies to finish off the Islamic State in Libya

A U.S. air campaign against Islamic State militants in Libya, which was supposed to be a brisk illustration of the effectiveness of U.S. support for local forces, has turned into an extended operation with no clear end in sight.

About 100 militants are believed to remain in the coastal city of Sirte, which in 2015 became the most important Islamic State stronghold outside of Iraq and Syria. They are holed up in a small, densely packed residential area. For months, U.S.-backed local militia fighters have struggled against militant defenses and sniper attacks; last week, 14 fighters were killed on one day alone.

The elusiveness of victory in Sirte underscores the challenges that continue to face U.S. efforts to defeat extremists from North Africa to Afghanistan: the limitations of local fighting forces, including inadequate battlefield support and poor morale, and the corrosive effects of local political feuds.

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WNU Editor: President Obama's war strategy has been to use local forces in concert with U.S. special ops when conducting these military operations. Unfortunately .... by providing only minimal force when more firepower could end the battle quickly has resulted in prolonged battles as the case is right now in Sirte.

The Last Islamic State Stronghold In Libya Is About To Fall

Reuters: Libyan forces push into last Islamic State area in Sirte

Libyan pro-government forces are advancing into the last area controlled by Islamic State in the coastal city of Sirte, surrounding the militants after a five-month campaign backed by U.S. air strikes, military officials say.

At least eight pro-government fighters were killed over the weekend as their forces pushed into the 600 block, an area in central Sirte, with snipers and boobytraps posing the main obstacles to their advance, the officials said.

A Reuters reporter on the ground said forces advanced across two streets on Sunday, but were facing resistance and discovering explosive devices in many buildings.

Islamic State took over Sirte a year ago, exploiting the chaos and violence that have dogged Libya since the overthrow of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 in order to carve out a new base, far from its main territory in Iraq and Syria.

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WNU editor: It looks like it is only a matter of time before the last Islamic State holdouts are killed. On a side note, recent captured documents and communications indicate that they had big plans for Libya .... In Coastal Libya, Islamic State Prepared to Build a Nation (WSJ).

An Intense On The Ground Report On The Battle For The Islamic State Controlled City Of Sirte, Libya (Video)

RT: RT EXCLUSIVE: Crew dodges ISIS suicide car bomb attack on Libyan battlefield (DRAMATIC VIDEO)

New intense battle footage from Libya shows an RT crew caught in the midst of heavy fighting between government forces and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants as the journalists venture to report, risking their lives from the frontline in Sirte.

After a vehicle with RT’s William Whiteman drove past an intersection in one of Sirte’s contested neighborhoods where sounds of gunfire are heard erupting every few seconds, the journalists managed to cheat death in an attempted suicide attack. An armored car rigged with explosives rapidly approaching their positions was spotted by the government fighters.

Before the terrorist was able to trigger a powerful blast, he was annihilated by a RPG fired by one of the government fighters. The remnants of the car engulfed by flames could be seen through a smashed shutter.

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WNU Editor: This footage is intense. This also tells me that the battle for the Islamic State controlled city of Sirte (Libya), is far from over.

The Battle For The Libyan City Of Sirte Enters The Final Phase

DW: Libyan forces in final push to dislodge 'Islamic State' from Sirte

Pro-government forces have said they are in a "final battle" against the "Islamic State" in its stronghold of Sirte. A three month fight to retake the city has been slowed by IS snipers, suicide bombers and booby traps.

Fighters loyal to Libya's UN-backed government on Sunday advanced on the last "Islamic State" controlled neighborhoods in the coastal city of Sirte.

Loyalist forces have been fighting for Sirte for nearly three months, but their offensive has been slowed down by snipers, suicide bombers and booby traps since entering the city in June.

After a one week lull in fighting, pro-Government of National Accord (GNA) forces said they were on the verge of fully dislodging the last IS fighters from two districts.

"The final battle for Sirte has started," said Reda Issa, a spokesman for the pro-GNA forces.

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More News On The Battle For The Libyan City Of Sirte

34 killed, 180 wounded in Libya clashes with IS -- RTE
Libya loyalists suffer toll as Sirte’s Islamic State holdouts put up fierce fight -- Japan Times/AFP-JIJI, REUTERS
Heavy casualties as Libyan forces advance on IS in Sirte -- BBC
High toll as Libyan fighters close in on Islamic State in Sirte -- Reuters
What next for Islamic State in Libya after Sirte? -- BBC

A Look At The Fight Against The Islamic State On The Frontlines In Libya

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Hopeful: Fighters of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government fire a rocket at Islamic State fighters in Sirte, Libya, on August 4

Daily Mail: Laughing Libyan fighters launch rockets at ISIS while standing on the back of pick-up trucks in battle to take back the coastal city of Sirte

* The Libyan fighters fired rockets at Islamic State targets in the Libyan city of Sirte on Thursday
* Many of the men are volunteers and former rebels who fought in the uprising that toppled Gaddafi
* ISIS has controlled the coastal city since February 2015 but Libyan's have been fighting to reclaim it
* On Thursday President Barack Obama touted progress against ISIS in Syria and Iraq
* U.S. air strikes are easing the passage of Libyan forces as they seek to clear Islamic State

Libyan fighters have been pictured standing atop of their pick-up trucks as they fire large rockets at Islamic State militants in the city of Sirte.

The sight of a deadly explosive firing past them appears to have become so normal that these men laugh and joke while the rockets light up the sky. Many of the men are volunteers and former rebels who fought in the uprising
that toppled Muammar Gaddafi five years ago.

The government-backed forces began their offensive to take back Sirte in May this year. The city is the so-called Islamic State's biggest stronghold in Libya and has been under the terror group's control since February 2015.

U.S. air strikes are easing the passage of Libyan forces, a senior field commander said on Wednesday.

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WNU Editor: There are some great photos in the above link.

The Battle For The Islamic State City of Sirte In Libya Is Intensifying

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Daily Mail: SAS corner hundreds of jihadi fighters in 'kill boxes' - but the desperate fanatics are using PREGNANT women as human shields

* Elite commandos have attacked IS fighters by land, sea and air in Libyan city of Sirte
* SAS and SBS retaking control of crucial oil port in terror group's last bastion in the country
* British forces - and US Navy Seals - deployed drones and high-tech infra-red cameras to locate hundreds of jihadis
* IS has run the city as an extremist caliphate for the past 18 months

British special forces have corralled hundreds of Islamic State jihadis in ‘kill boxes’ in the besieged Libyan city of Sirte, but the desperate fanatics are using pregnant women and girls as human shields to prevent them storming the town.

Elite commandos from the SAS and SBS – the Special Boat Service – secretly co-ordinated attacks by land, sea and air to overpower IS fighters, retaking control of a crucial oil port in the terror group’s last bastion in Libya.

The British forces, working jointly with US Navy Seals, deployed drones and high-tech infra-red cameras to locate hundreds of jihadis who have run the city as an extremist caliphate for the past 18 months.

Reports are only now starting to emerge of how, last Saturday, during a surprise assault, the special forces working with the Libyan army, air force and coastguard guided fighter bombers and helicopter gunships on a series of raids that destroyed target buildings where there were clusters of IS militants, driving them into the open.

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More News On The Battle For The Libyan City of Sirte

ISIS tries to break siege in Libya's Sirte -- News24/AFP
British jihadists travel to Libya to help Isis in its final stand as the terror group clings on to its last remaining stronghold -- Daily Mail
Hand-to-hand fighting looms in Isil's Libyan stronghold -- Independent.ie
Fighting Islamic State in Libya -- The Economist
Anti-ISIS Forces Make Inroads in Libya, but Any Victory Will Be a Hollow One -- Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz

Islamic State Stronghold At Sirte In Libya Near Collapse

New York Times: U.N.-Backed Libyan Fighters Push Toward ISIS Stronghold of Surt

CAIRO — Libyan fighters aligned with the United Nations-backed unity government on Thursday battled their way toward the center of Surt, the Islamic State’s coastal stronghold, in a rapid offensive that has confounded expectations and upended Western strategic calculations.

Only a few months ago, American generals were touting a plan to dislodge the Islamic State from Surt with a campaign of airstrikes. Yet the three-week-old Libyan ground offensive, led by a brigade from the nearby city of Misurata, has gradually closed in from the west and south, capturing an airfield, military bases and a traffic junction where the Islamic State has hanged dozens of people.

The swiftness and extent of these successes and the seeming inability of the Islamic State to hold on to territory has surprised observers inside and outside Libya.

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More News On The War Against The Islamic State In Libya

Libyan Forces Enter Sirte as Islamic State Resistance Weakens -- Bloomberg
Islamic State stronghold in Libya near collapse -- Washington Times
Isis in Libya: Jihadists 'shaving off beards' to blend in with civilians as they flee government advance on Sirte -- The Independent
Libya unity forces pound IS in bastion Sirte -- AFP
Libyan forces fight Islamic State in Sirte, predict city to fall soon -- Reuters
Libyan forces claim to have ousted Isis from final stronghold -- The Guardian
Libya government forces expect to expel Isil from Sirte 'within days' -- The Telegraph
Libya conflict: Government forces 'advance' against IS-held Sirte -- BBC
Libyan forces make gains against ISIL in Sirte -- Al Jazeera
Libyan militias near IS stronghold, Sirte -- DW

On The Front Lines Against The Islamic State In Libya

VICE News: On the Frontline of the Battle Against Islamic State, Libyan Fighters Face a Vicious Enemy

It's been more than a year since Islamic State fighters consolidated their brutal rule over the coastal city of Sirte and the Libyan desert beyond, establishing their first foothold outside their so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq. Now, they might be on the verge of losing it, to a coalition of Libyan armed groups backed by Western nations — but they are putting up a vicious fight.

The hometown of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, who fell in 2011 in a revolution followed by a war that hasn't stopped since, lies halfway between the capital Tripoli and Misrata, home to the fighters leading the charge on Sirte. In a surprising series of rapid victories, Misratan and allied forces this past month have successfully pushed the militants on the defensive, back hundreds of kilometers, to the now-besieged city.

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WNU Editor: The UN backed government in Libya is confident that they will be able to defeat the Islamic State .... Libyans will defeat local Islamic State themselves: unity government PM (Reuters). What's my take .... there have been successes .... 'Islamic State' group pushed back in Syria, Libya (DW), but this is still going to be a long (and messy) war.

Islamic State Fighters In Libya Now Forced To Sell Chickens And Eggs In The Street

An armed motorcade belonging to members of the Islamic Youth Council, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS), drive along a road in Derna, eastern Libya October 3, 2014. REUTERS/STRINGER

The Telegraph: Cash-strapped Islamic State fighters in Libya forced to sell chickens and eggs in the street

Islamic State fighters in the Libyan city of Sirte are selling chickens and eggs by the roadside to make ends meet, it has been claimed.

The terror group has instructed its footsoldiers to act as street vendors as a Western-backed military campaign puts pressure on their finances.

As a result, fighters more used to swaggering down the streets with AK-47s have taken on the rather humbler role of selling produce from Isil-controlled poultry farms, according to local media.

Even so, they still choose to keep their intimidating black balaclava masks on - perhaps out of embarrassment.

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Update #1: ISIS Selling Chickens and Eggs in Libya's Sirte Amid Financial Troubles (Newsweek)
Update #2: Cash-strapped IS sells chickens and eggs to raise funds in Libya (Middle East Eye)

WNU Editor: Here is a rag tag militia forced to sell chickens and eggs to survive .... but they still cannot be defeated by an army backed by the West. As usual .... am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture?

Report: Italian-British Special Forces Ambushed By Islamic State In Libya

An image which the Libyan Air Force has claimed shows US special forces in Libya (Libyan Air Force)

Debka: Italian-British force ambushed by IS in Libya

ISIS fighters smashed a force of Italian and British Special Ops troops on Wednesday, April 27 in the first battle of its kind in Libya, DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report. This battle will result in the delay of the planned Western invasion of Libya, as the encounter proved that European forces are not ready for this kind of guerilla warfare. The sources also said the planners of the invasion were surprised by the high combat skills of the ISIS fighters.

Our sources report the following details:

The convoy of Italian marines, British special forces and Libyan troops was traveling from the northwestern city of Misrata toward the ISIS stronghold of Sirte, located 273 kilometers to the southeast, when it was ambushed and hit hard by ISIS forces.

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WNU Editor: No one else is corroborating this story, but we do know that Western special forces are in Libya and are near the Islamic State stronghold .... British special forces troops set to launch double attack on ISIS in Iraq and Libya within weeks after teaming up with French and US counterparts (Daily Mail).