CAIRO: Daesh claimed responsibility for a gun attack on a checkpoint east of the Libyan capital Tripoli earlier this week, the group’s Amaq news agency said on Saturday.
Thursday’s attack took place between the towns of Zliten and Khoms on the coastal road leading from Tripoli to the port city of Misrata, an area in which members of the Islamist militant group are known to be operating, according to the Zliten mayor.
Amaq said “seven Libyan road security personnel were killed” in the attack by Daesh fighters, while around 10 more were wounded. It provided no evidence.
A local official and a resident on Thursday said at least four people had been killed in the attack, among them security personnel.
Libya has seen occasional attacks by Islamist militants who have benefited from the turmoil that followed a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
Daesh has said it was behind a deadly attack by gunmen on the offices of the electoral commission in Tripoli in May and an attack on a court complex in Misrata last year.
Local forces drove the militant group from its former stronghold in Sirte, southeast of Misrata, in 2016, but Libyan and Western officials say militants have sought to regroup through mobile desert units and sleeper cells in northern towns.
The United Nations is leading efforts to prepare for national elections in Libya, which it hopes will reunify rival factions based in Tripoli and the east of the country.
Daesh claims responsibility for western Libya checkpoint attack
Daesh claims responsibility for western Libya checkpoint attack
- Amaq said “seven Libyan road security personnel were killed” in the attack by Daesh fighters
- Thursday’s attack took place between the towns of Zliten and Khoms
Daesh group militants clash with police during raid in Turkiye, wounding 7 officers
- The clash broke out Monday in Yalova province as police stormed a house where the militants were hiding, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency
- Last week, police detained 115 militants allegedly planning attacks targeting Christmas and New Year’s celebrations
ANKARA: Militants of the Daesh group opened fire on police and wounded seven officers during a raid on the group in northwest Turkiye on Monday, the country’s state-run media reported.
The clash broke out in Yalova province, south of Istanbul, as police stormed a house where the militants were hiding, Anadolu Agency said.
Special forces from neighboring Bursa province were dispatched to reinforce the operation.
Anadolu said none of the wounded officers were in serious condition.
Last week, police launched scores of simultaneous raids, detaining 115 militants of the extremist group who were allegedly planning attacks targeting Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. Officials said the group had called for action, particularly against non-Muslims, during the celebrations.
Daesh has carried out a series of deadly attacks in Turkiye in recent years, including a shooting at an Istanbul nightclub during New Year celebrations on Jan. 1, 2017, which killed 39 people.
