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| Africa North |
| Libyan Forces Advance in Islamic State-Held City |
| 2016-07-26 |
| [WSJ] Forces for the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... -backed Libyan government said Monday they had seized the security headquarters in Sirte, a crucial step toward retaking control of the coastal city that Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... has held for 16 months. Sirte is the Death Eater group’s most important base outside its strongholds in Syria and Iraq, and its fighters have put up stiff resistance since the initial drive by government-allied forces into the city in late May. But Libyan commanders said Monday they had shrunk Islamic State’s area of control around Sirte, the birthplace of late dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...a proud Arab institution for 42 years, now among the dear departed, though not the dearest... , from 150 miles of coastline to just two square miles in the city center. U.S. and Libyan intelligence officials earlier this year estimated some 5,000 murderous Moslems were inside Sirte, though they say the number has dwindled. "We’re slowly tightening our grip on them," a senior Libyan officer said. The security headquarters in Sirte is a complex in a part of the city that the forces backing the government have been trying to enter for weeks. Islamic State leaders have promoted Sirte as a destination for foreign recruits, urging migration to the city to bolster its presence there. As recently as May, U.S. military commanders considered an air campaign against Islamic State targets in Libya. They were concerned the group was preparing to stage attacks from the North African country to counter the increasing military pressure on cities it controls in Iraq and Syria. |
| Posted by:Fred |