The Islamic State (IS) appears to have shifted strategy in Libya as it begins an insurgency rather than holds territory after the group’s territorial loss of Sirte in late 2016, according to the New York-based Combating Terrorism Center (CTC).
“Post-2016, the Islamic State in Libya appears to be implementing this strategy of attrition through two mutually reinforcing campaigns: high-profile attacks on symbolic state institutions and a guerilla campaign in the desert,” CTC said in a March report entitled “The Islamic State’s Revitalization in Libya and its Post-2016 War of Attrition.”
The report added that the IS in Libya has undertaken several attacks on specific targets. Within the last 12 months, IS targeted the Libyan Foreign Ministry, the National Oil Corporation (NOC), and the High National Electoral Commission.
“By attacking these institutions, the Islamic State appears to be attempting to unsettle foreign assistance, weaken Libya’s recovering oil sector, on which the whole economy depends, and disrupt elections,” the report explained.
IS attacked the US consulate in Benghazi in 2012, killing Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other diplomats. However, the US continues to aid the Government of National Accord and rid Sirte, east of Tripoli, of IS in 2016.
In late February 2019, US surveillance drones flew reconnaissance missions from a Tunisian air base to capture terrorists who try to infiltrate through the country’s border with Libya.
Meanwhile, IS and other groups have attempted to seize oil fields in the southern region, a vast area that has been neglected by the authorities for years, rendering it a haven for terrorists.
The Libyan National Army launched an operation on January 14 in the southern region and has dominated many parts in the area since then, including el-Sharara and el-Feel oil fields.
On another from, after much delay caused by Libyan division, the UN Support Mission in Libya announced the National Conference to be held in April in hopes that Libyan factions would gather and agree on holding elections with undisputed results.
