Violence in Sirte between ISIS and pro-government militiamen kills at least 60

Fierce clashes in Libya between pro-government militiamen and ISIS jihadists in the city of Sirte and an explosion at a depot near the capital, Tripoli, has left more than 60 dead in just one day. Sirte is believed to be the last bastion of the ISIS group in the North African country and the latest clashes led to the death of 36 militiamen aligned with the newly-UN brokered government. They are mainly from the western town of Misrata and have been leading an offensive since early May to take full control over Sirte.
Along with the 36 militiamen killed, mostly in direct gun battles with ISIS jihadists, Misrata hospital spokesman has indicated that another 140 were wounded in the violence.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 22 June 2016.

ISIS jihadists have apparently gone into hiding at its headquarters in Sirte where the sprawling Ouagadougou convention center had been built by late dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The city was also Gaddafi's birthplace and the city he fled to during the 2011 civil war, when Libyan rebels backed by NATO bombings forced him out of the capital, Tripoli.
Simultaneously, an explosion at a depot in the town of Garabuli, near Tripoli, followed clashes with militias and killed 29 civilians. The clashes here took place between militiamen in charge of the town security and armed local protesters. It seems when the protesters stormed the militia's barracks, the depot exploded - it housed firecrackers, not ammunition.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Masked gunmen storm luxury hotel in Tripoli and kill 8 persons

#corinthiahotel #tripoli #lybia #gunmen Masked gunmen struck the Corinthia luxury hotel, which sits along the Mediterranean Sea, in Tripoli and killed 8 persons – five of them were foreigners and the other three were security guards. The hotel usually has Italian, British and Turkish guests but was largely empty when the attack happened.
It is understood that the Tripoli branch of Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility, the Site Intelligence monitoring group said.
The attack included a car bombing and, Mahmoud Hamza, commander of the Special Deterrent Force, has indicated that the situation was under control. He could not, however, confirm the whereabouts of the gunmen.
There were rumors about hostages being taken but that has not been confirmed. Two commercial landmark towers located behind the hotel were evacuated due to security concerns.
Incidentally, this hotel is where the militia-backed prime minister, Omar al-Hassi, usually resides – he was not in the hotel when the attack took place.
In the opinion of experts, the attack was designed for maximum impact because it comes at a time when the UN is beginning a new round of Libya peace talks in Geneva.
The Pentagon had warned in December about the presence of ISIS in Libya and that its influence was growing. Also, that there was evidence that it had set up training camps. In the last nearly six months of fighting, more than 1000 have died while some of the towns are in ruins and over 400,000 people have been displaced.