| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa North |
| Rockets Target Libya Airfield Used by Anti-Islamist General |
| 2015-02-23 |
| [AnNahar] Rockets were fired at an eastern Libyan airfield used by an anti-Islamist general but fell short, the facility's manager said Saturday, adding that there were no casualties or damage. Unknown assailants fired four rockets at the international airport just outside Labraq, from which General 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... 's forces launch raids against Islamist positions in the east. The airport, which has civilian and military terminals, has been targeted repeatedly in recent months. Labraq is some 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of the Islamist stronghold of Derna, which was hit on Monday by Egyptian and Libyan warplanes. The raids were in retaliation for the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians by local jihadists affiliated with the 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.... group. The town also lies roughly half that distance west of Al-Qobah, where IS launched suicide kabooms Friday in response to the Derna attacks, killing 44 people and wounding 37, the Libyan health ministry said Saturday. A previous toll had put the number of dead at 40, but four more gave up the ghost in the hours following the attack, the ministry said. Labraq is one of the few airports still operating in the North African country, after both the 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... and Benghazi facilities were put out of action in festivities. Libya, which has been roiled by turmoil since the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... -backed ouster of dictator Muammar Qadaffy ... who had more funny outfits than Louis XIV... in 2011, is awash with weapons and rival militias battling to control its cities and oil wealth. It has two rival governments and parliaments, one recognized by the international community and the other with ties to Islamists. With the capital in the hands of Islamist militias, the recognized government has taken refuge in Al-Baida, just a few kilometers west of Labraq. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #1 Rockets were fired at an eastern Libyan airfield used by an anti-Islamist general but fell short Hamas-trained rocketeers? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-02-23 10:49 |