| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa North |
| Heavy casualties as Benghazi clashes rage on |
| 2014-08-26 |
| [Libya Herald] A Saiqa Special Forces ...Libya's elite army unit, insofar as they have one, formed from a mixture of paratroopers and commandos. The group emerged from a militia with the same name in 2010. It now numbers a few thousand and reports to the Ministry of Defence. It deployed in Benghazi in an attempt to control the carnage. As a result, it has been attacked and several of its officers murdered. The force is popular in Benghazi for its stance against Ansar al-Sharia group... officer has been killed and seven Operation Dignity members maimed in fighting in Benghazi with reports of at least nine members of Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... also killed. Head of Saiqa Special Forces Investigations Unit Fadel Al-Hassi identified the dead man as Ali Al-Madrasi. The names of the maimed individuals have not been released with the exception of Hassi's own brother, Nasr Faraj Al-Hassi, an Air Force officer who was maimed yesterday by mortar fire in Sidi Mansour. He has been taken to Marj Hospital where he is said to be in a stable condition. A spokesperson at Jalaa Hospital told the Libya Herald that four of the Operation Dignity maimed had arrived there but had been transferred to Benghazi Medical Centre (BMC). At BMC doctors said a total of nine dead from Ansar al-Sharia had been brought in but that the body of prominent Islamist Mohammed Abu Azzah was not among them. Azzah, an Algerian and a leading figure within Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), was killed fighting alongside Ansar al-Sharia on Saturday. The head of Operation Dignity's air forces Adam Saqr Geroushi confirmed the death but said Ansar had retained Azzah's body. He added that there have been increasing reports of imported muscle fiighting alongside Ansar al-Sharia and its allies. Hassi also said three rocket propelled grenades, fired by Ansar, had hit Labraq Airport but without causing any casualties or material losses. He explained that Ansar had fired at the airport, one of the last to remain open in the whole of the country, from their southern stronghold at the port of Ras Hilal. In the past, Operation Dignity has claimed that Ansar uses the port for gun-running. Benina Airport and its approach, including the nearby district of Buatni, have continued to witness the worst of the fighting in Benghazi over the last two days. The majority of residents in the area have nonetheless left their homes following weeks of festivities during which Saiqa Special Forces' main base in Benghazi was overrun by Ansar. Ansar was said to be building up for an assault on the airport itself before being pushed back last week from Benina by Saiqa. The airport and the nearby Air Defence Brigade's camp remain among the last positions in the area held by forces loyal to Operation Dignity. Operation Dignity has carried out bombings on a number of locations in the city, Hassi said, including Guwarsha, a Islamist stronghold. The attacks by Dignity's Airforces have become almost common-place with regular |
| Posted by:Fred |