Forces of Brigade 12 Infantry, led by Mohammed Ben Nayel, who is affiliated with the Khalifa Haftar’s Operation Dignity forces controlled Thursday night Barak Al-Shati military base, according to the so-called General Command of Haftar’s forces.

The Ben Nayel-led forces gained control of the military base from the Third Force, which is led by Jamal Al-Treiki, who told Al-Nabaa TV that they surrendered the military base to Ben Nayel’s forces without fight.

libyanexpress.com

General Khalifa Haftar’s forces launched an assault on the Defend Benghazi Brigades (DBB) just south of Al-Jufra region in central Libya on Thursday.

“This morning, two air raids targeted the Al-Jufra military airbase, which is used as a headquarters by the Defend Benghazi Brigades,” said Mohamed Abu Ras al-Sharif, who is well known in Al-Jufra.

DBB is a militia made up of soldiers and civilians turned freedom fighters fighters during the 2011 uprising from the city of Benghazi and Ajdabiya. The DBB forces fought alongside the same commanders in the battles against former dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 that they fight with today.

In Ajdabiya, the DBB allied with Adjabiya’s military operations centre, which is the new name of the Shura Council freedom fighters of Ajdabiya.

Haftar’s forces used the airport in Ras Lanuf to launch the warplanes that fired the airstrikes on the DBB base, said an anonymous military source.

One person was killed and 14 others injured in the airstrike attack, according to Mohamed Ahmoud, a military official in Haftar’s forces.

The Al-Jufra base is supposedly under the control of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).

Haftar has been at odd with the GNA and he has also been accused of preventing the Libyan parliament based in Tobruk from supporting the unity government.

.libyangazette.ne

Six police officers have been killed and three wounded in a bomb explosion near pyramids in Egypt.

Four bystanders were also hurt in the blast, which targeted a security checkpoint in the country’s capital Cairo on Friday.

It is the deadliest attack on security forces in several months although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the explosion.

The bomb went off in Al Haram street – the main avenue leading from the city centre to the Giza pyramids.

Reports from the scene suggest the bombing appeared to have targeted two police cars parked on the road.

It is the latest in a series of attacks in the country since the former elected Islamist president was overthrown in 2013.

Hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed in an Islamist insurgency led by Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula.

On Tuesday security forces killed three gunmen in a raid on a suspected Muslim Brotherhood hideout in southern Egypt after the group claimed responsibility in September for an assassination attempt of a senior prosecutor.

standard.co.uk

Around 500 militants have possibly fled Sirte, according to Libyan estimates

Hundreds of Islamic State group [IS] militants have “disappeared” from its last bastion in Libya and could be regrouping inside the war-torn country and in Europe to carry out attacks.

Forces loyal to Libya’s unity government announced its full control of Sirte on Monday, in a major blow to the extremists, and that dozens of IS fighters had surrendered.

“Many IS militants have mysteriously gone missing and we still have no answers,” The New Arab Libya correspondent, Abdullah al-Sharif, said.

“Libyan estimates have put the number the number of militants in the city at 1,500 at best, while Western reports have said there were 5,000 to 6,000.

He added that escaped militants have likely found refuge in the country’s lawless central and southern areas and will regroup to launch attacks at any time.

Extremists already have bases in Libya’s vast desert regions and are working to build ties with local tribes.

“Most observers think they have relocated to the border region with Chad and Sudan or Algeria and Niger. This could eventually lead to a new area of internal conflict with tribal and ethnic factors,” Sharif said.

The battle for Sirte cost the lives of around 700 loyalist troops and 1,000 IS fighters, a Bunyan al-Marsous media officer and medics have told The New Arab, leaving around 500 militants unaccounted for, according to Libyan estimates.

The Bunyan al-Marsous operation room has previously said it was likely hundreds of militants escaped the city around July before it was put fully under siege.

In August, sources told The New Arab that warplanes bombed an IS convoy south of Sirte as militants fled to take cover in the rugged desert terrain.

An EU report warned on Wednesday that foreign IS fighters in Libya could their nationality or family connections to return to Europe and some may have orders to attack.

“Those in the majority that will drift back, and those who will be sent back on specific missions, which are of most concern,” the report warned.

On Tuesday, loyalist forces said their soldiers were “chasing the last extremists hiding in fewer than 10 houses” in the seafront district of al-Giza al-Bahriya, the last to fall in the almost seven-month-long battle.

alaraby.co.uk

The town of Ben Jawad, located near Libya’s major oil ports, was taken over by armed groups. Soldiers loyal to Libya’s eastern parliament and General Khalifa Haftar fought back with airstrikes, according to officials.

Ben Jawad is about 30 kilometres west of Es Sider in Libya’s oil crescent region.

The forces loyal to the Tobruk-based parliament had only taken control of some of the major oil facilities in the area from the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) in September.

The clashes between the two groups is likely to trigger more battles over the control of the oil facilities.

The attackers are likely to have been from the Defend Benghazi Brigades, who had also attempted to resist Haftar from expanding his control in eastern Libya, said an eastern security official.

The airstrikes fired by the Haftar loyal forces destroyed some of the attackers vehicles.

The repair workers at the oil facility at Es Sider were evacuated when the fighting was heard, said Rajab Al-Zwai, one of the engineers at the Es Sider oil facility. The Es Sider oil facility will remain closed until the damages caused by previous clashes are repaired.

Residents in neighbouring Ras Lanuf were able to hear the military jet flying but said that the situation in Ras lanuf was calm.

In the last few weeks, rumours about an attack on oil facilities have been spreading. The rumours said the attacking group would likely be the PFG or brigades from Misrata.

Ben Jawad is about 150 kilometres southeast of Sirte, where Libyan forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have recently liberated Sirte of ISIS after enduring close to seven months of fighting.

Escalating fighting in the oil crescent region puts the oil facilities at risk of being damaged. If the oil facilities are damaged oil production would drop which would lower Libya’s oil revenue and add pressure to the already struggling Libyan economy.

Following the civil unrest in Libya which began in 2011, oil production dropped to about 660,000 barrels of oil per day. Production began to drop when international oil companies began to pull out as the civil conflict in Libya intensified.

The first export of of oil, which consisted of 781,000 barrels, since force majeure was issued in December 2014 left the Ras Lanuf oil port on September 21.

The escalating violence put the oil fields and ports under force majeure, which legally prevents a group from being held liable when the situation is out of their hands.

Force majeure for Zueitina oil port, along with Es Sider and Ras Lanuf oil ports, was lifted by the NOC on September 14 when a deal was agreed upon by the state oil company and Haftar, who recently took possession of the ports by force.

libyangazette.net

farsnews.com

Two extremists affiliated with the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS) were arrested in Casablanca, according to a statement released by the Ministry of the Interior.

The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) and the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST) coordinated the arrest, which took place on Sunday.

Preliminary police investigations indicate that the two terrorists had enlisted themselves towards forwarding ISIS’ cause and had been trying to get a hold of an explosive belt to attack a sensitive target in the kingdom.

The ministry added that the suspects would face trial and the public prosecutor once a full investigation into the matter had been completed.

.moroccoworldnews.com

The Independent newspaper published a map of an airbase it said was located near the Libyan city of Benghazi which will be transferred to Russia in exchange for arms supply.

According to Western reports, General Khalifa Haftar’s recent visit to Moscow along with his talks with Russian officials revolved around the need to import weapons in return for granting Moscow logistical and military privileges inside the Libyan territories.

Haftar wants to win Moscow’s support and recognition as the sole candidate for the country’s leadership as Russia’s influence in the world and the Middle East is on the rise, Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported.

The newspaper said, Haftar may have submitted an initial list of the required weapons to the Russian Defence Ministry, and won a promise to receive the weapons in case an arms embargo was removed.

Haftar met with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, and Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov and representatives of the Russian Defence Ministry.

This is the second visit by the General to Moscow this year.

middleeastmonitor.com

General Khalifa Haftar, chief of the Libyan National Army (LNA), and his forces have taken control over two of the four export terminals in the Oil Crescent, according to a spokesperson for the LNA. His words were confirmed by a representative of the National Oil Corporation, speaking to Reuters.

The news comes after the LNA clashed with the Petroleum Facilities Guard over the export terminals, which handle Libya’s oil trade. The PFG, which is affiliated with the UN-backed government, is the former master of the terminals, which it used as a means of extortion. The LNA is loyal to the rival government, the House of Representatives, based in eastern Libya. The PFG denied the reports claiming victory for Haftar.

In September, Libyan media reported that Haftar’s forces had taken over all four terminals from the PFG and then handed this control over to the National Oil Corp. Since then, there have been repeated clashes between the LNA and the PFG. At the moment, at least according to the National Oil Corp, only the port of Zeutina remains contested; the rest of them, Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, and Al-Brega, are all in the hands of the LNA.

In mid-November, Haftar’s spokesman warned, speaking to the media, that PFG forces were gathering around the four ports, planning to retake control of them and that a battle was imminent.

Libya currently produces around 600,000 barrels of crude daily and has plans to raise this to 900,000 bpd, thanks to its exemption from the OPEC production cut deal, sealed amid much fanfare last week. This 300,000-barrel increase is actually equal to the cut Russia agreed to make in support of OPEC’s market rebalancing efforts.

Meanwhile, the political situation in Libya remains extremely volatile, with clashes erupting constantly between the LNA and other armed groups, most of them Islamist ones, some of which support the UN-backed Government of National Accord. According to a BBC recap, the LNA seems to have control over the most territory.

oilprice.com