Islamic State 'beheads' Haftar's soldiers in Libya after attack on checkpoint

Reports are emerging of an attack on the Libyan National Army in central Libya by Islamic State fighters, leading to the beheading of soldiers.

MENA

2 min read

Robert Cusack

23 August, 2017

Fuqaha is located only around 100 kilometres northeast of Sabha [The New Arab]

At least 11 people were beheaded on Wednesday after Islamic State forces attacked a checkpoint controlled by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar, a spokesman for his forces said.

"At least nine soldiers were beheaded... in addition to two civilians" at the checkpoint about 500 kilometres (300 miles) south of Tripoli, Colonel Ahmad al-Mesmari said.

Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army seized the area, including a key military air base, in June from the Benghazi Defence Brigades coalition. This battalion includes Islamists driven out of Libya's second city by Haftar's forces last month.

Islamist fighters attacked the Libyan National Army's Battalion 131 in al-Fuqaha, central Libya before executing its commander, Major Ali al-Ghadban, and eight other soldiers.

Ismail Sharif, the MP for Jafra in the House of Representatives, the east Libyan government in Tobruk, said IS fighters had overpowered the security barrier and burned it down.

Fuqaha is located only around 100 kilometres northeast of Sabha, which the Times of London called a "slave-market stronghold" on Wednesday.

The Times reports that IS is on the rise in Libya, having recently suffered a series of defeats in the country's 'Oil Crescent'.

Extremists, arms dealers and people traffickers have gained a foothold in Libya as multiple authorities and dozens of militias vie for power.