[Iran Press TV] At least 11 people had their heads chopped off Wednesday after an attack on a checkpoint controlled by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
south of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, a front man for his forces said.
"At least nine soldiers had their heads chopped off... in addition to two civilians" at the checkpoint about 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Tripoli, Colonel Ahmad al-Mesmari said, blaming the ISIS terrorist group for the gruesome attack.
No group has yet claimed the attack at dawn on a checkpoint run by Haftar's forces in the al-Jufra region.
Haftar's self-proclaimed Libyan National Army seized the area, including a key military air base, in June from the Benghazi Defense Brigades coalition which includes
| Al Ahram adds: |