The Libyan National Army, commanded by Khalifa Haftar, announced on Monday that its campaign against the last remaining terrorist pockets in the eastern city of Derna is nearing its final stages, like reported by aawsat.com.

“The LNA controls most of the city, but there are still pockets of resistance,” LNA spokesman General Ahmed al-Mismari told AFP.

Mesmari said LNA forces were focusing on “sweep operations and tracking down terrorist elements”.

The spokesman called on displaced families to return to their homes in “liberated areas” of the city.

The LNA launched a ground offensive to take Derna last month after encircling the city – the last in eastern Libya to elude their control – for around two years.

The LNA is fighting a coalition known as the Derna Protection Force (DPF), which includes local combatants and extremist forces with links to groups in western Libya. The DPF includes fighters with connections to al-Qaeda, as well as foreign militants.

On Saturday and Sunday, the LNA said it had advanced in the district of Sheiha after hitting it with multiple air strikes, to the edge of Al Maghar in central Derna, a Mediterranean port.

“What remains outside the control of our forces is considered a small combat zone, less than just 10 km squared,” said Mismari. “The operations are in their final stages and the fighting is very heavy.”

On June 4, Haftar said “victory was near” for his forces in Derna.

He said the LNA would deploy across the city to take control of all areas and infrastructure, warning his troops against taking “revenge” — in particular against terrorists who surrender and give up their arms.

The United Nations has expressed concern about the plight of Derna’s 125,000 residents, whose access to food, water, communications and medical treatment has been severely restricted.

The LNA has said it is working to restore services and deliver food to parts of Derna where it has advanced.

The Libyan Red Crescent said it had helped some 1,800 families that had been granted safe passage from areas being fought over. It said Sunday it had delivered humanitarian aid to 6,000 people in western Derna’s Bab Tobruk district, in addition to thousands of others who have fled fighting in the embattled city to nearby areas.

Derna is located about 265 km (165 miles) to the west of the border with Egypt.

Four terrorists were killed in clashes with security forces in Arish city in northern Sinai on Monday as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stressed the importance of exerted efforts to confront extremism, like reported by aawsat.com.

The four terrorists were killed in an exchange of gunfire with policemen, a security source said, adding that the extremists had used a building that was under construction as a hideout.

For the past several years, the Egyptian army has been conducting operations in the Sinai Peninsula to wipe out extremists. In mid-February, the armed forces and the police launched a major military campaign to restore security in the province.

Sisi said Monday that Al-Azhar and the Ministry of Awqaf are working on correcting misconceptions regarding Islam.

He said that Egypt has been facing major challenges in the past years, but the people had a strong will to confront them. “They were united in facing the forces of evil and darkness that attempted to destroy their homeland.”

The Egyptians resisted attempts to stir chaos and faced all threats made against the country’s security, said Sisi.

The people shed their blood for the sake of the country and in defense of its stability, he stated, adding that they patiently endured tough economic conditions and went ahead with the reforms in order to establish a modern state and an advanced society.

In his speech, Sisi tackled the resignation of PM Sherif Ismail’s cabinet, saying that the change of governments is necessary to give chances to one another.

An Israeli arms company has developed a new drone to counter the threat posed by incendiary kites, hundreds of which have been flown over from Gaza to Israel’s southern communities over recent weeks, causing numerous fires that have ravaged farmland and terrorized residents.

The Z’vuv HaEsh (Firefly) drone, which has been developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, will be presented for the first time at the Eurosatory exhibition in Paris next week, where the latest land and airland defence and security gear goes on display.

Its meager weight of just three kilograms does not come and the expense of its abilities to fly and operate in tough weather conditions, including rain and wind.

U.S. forces conducted a precision airstrike near Bani Walid, Libya, on June 6, killing four SIS-Libya militants. US AFRICOM said in a statement that no civilians were killed in the strike.

“The United States will not relent in its mission to degrade, disrupt, and destroy terrorist organizations and bring stability to the region. We are committed to maintaining pressure on the terror network and preventing terrorists from establishing safe haven.” US AFRICOM’s statement says.

Specialized anti-terrorism police units have dismantled a takfiri cell of five (17 to 21-year-olds), the Tunisian ministry of interior announced according to aawsat.com.

A ministry statement said the members of the network were intending to join Jund al-Khilafah, a local ISIS affiliate.

According to sources, some of the cell’s members in Kasserine (western Tunisia) had insisted to join Jund al-Khilafah in the Mghila mountains for being influenced by ISIS’ ideology.

The remaining members of the network, who were busted in Ibn Khouldoun and Omrane near the capital, wanted to join the terrorist members in Kasserine and then to collectively join Jund al-Khilafah.

Jund al-Khilafah had defected from Uqba ibn Nafi and pledged allegiance to ISIS terrorist group. However, Uqba ibn Nafi remained affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

In 2014, Jund al-Khilafah pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

According to centers specialized in studying terrorist groups, there are between 300 and 400 sleeper terrorist cells in Tunisia.

The commander of the Libyan eastern-based army announced the beginning of the second phase of the battle to liberate the eastern city of Darna, after the army stormed the city center, like reported by xinhuanet.com.

“To our soldiers fighting in all axes of Darna, we salute you for your patience and steadfastness. You are fighting fierce battles under difficult circumstances to clear Darna of terrorism,” said Gen. Khalifa Haftar.

“The victory and liberation of Darna from terrorism is near,” he said.

On the details of the second phase, Haftar warned his forces of “booby traps, mines, agents and snipers,” as well as “any suspicious movement” in Darna.

“Any source of threat from the enemy and sleeping cells should be dealt with immediately, and the armed forces must interfere as soon as any signs of terrorism appear,” he said.

The army forces made great progress on Monday in fierce battles, advancing to the city center of Darna after forcing the terrorist groups to retreat and lose almost half of the city.

Since 2015, Darna has been besieged by the army, which demanded the armed group of the Shura Council of Mujahideen of Darna leave the city, accusing it of being loyal to al-Qaida.

More than 30 soldiers have since been killed and over 40 others wounded, according to medical and military sources.

The UN Support Mission in Libya recently said at least 17 civilians were killed and 22 others wounded in Darna over the past two weeks, as a result of the fighting between the army and militants.

A woman was killed and five other civilians were wounded in an attack on a police station in eastern Libya that was claimed by the Islamic State group.

The attack occurred at dawn on Saturday while security forces were erecting a roadblock in Al-Qanan, 18km south of Ajdabiya, said the LANA news agency loyal to Libya’s eastern administration.

In a statement posted online, ISIS said its “caliphate soldiers” attacked the Al-Qanan police station and “violent clashes ended in the destruction of station elements”.

LANA reported the death of at least one person, a woman, and that five other passers-by were wounded during the attack on the police station.

The area surrounding Ajdabiya, a city 160km east of Benghazi, is often hit by ISIS targeting forces from strongman Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army.

IS said it was behind two attacks in the area on May 22, with a suicide attack against a checkpoint south of Ajdabiya killing at least two LNA soldiers.

In another incident some 200km south of the city, a soldier was abducted from a roadblock at the entrance to the city of Ojla.

In March IS claimed responsibility for two other attacks on LNA checkpoints in the region, in which a total of 10 people were killed.

Since the 2011 ousting of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been divided by rival powers with Haftar’s forces dominating the country’s east.

A UN-backed unity government sits in the capital Tripoli, while numerous armed groups and jihadists are active in different parts of Libya.

The Tunisian National Guards foiled an attempted attack against a national guards border post near its frontier with Algeria, the interior ministry said in a statement, according to middleeastmonitor.com.

“The National Guards in the province of Kasserine, 600 metres from the Tunisian-Algerian border, have thwarted a terrorist attack by six to eight militants divided into two groups,” the ministry said, adding that the National Guard soldiers fired at the two groups forcing them to withdraw and flee towards a forest near the border.

According to the statement, the National Guards in Kasserine and military units in coordination with the Algerian security authorities have increased their presence in the area to pursue the militants.

Fighting has escalated in the Libyan city of Derna, with air raids, shelling of residential areas and heavy ground clashes, the United Nations humanitarian office said according to reuters.com.

There were severe water, food and medicine shortages, and electricity and water were completely cut off for the city’s 125,000 residents, it said in a report that described the violence as “unprecedented” there.

The eastern city has been encircled since July 2017 by the Libyan National Army (LNA), whose commander Khalifa Haftar opposes the internationally recognized government based in the country’s west.

Located on the coast around 270 km (165 miles) from the border with Egypt, it is the only major town in eastern Libya outside LNA control.

“The LNA has announced that it now has control over the city’s eastern and western entrances … and surrounding areas where clashes have been taking place,” the U.N. report said.

Haftar’s forces are trying to wrest the city from a coalition of local fighters and Islamists known as the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council (DMSC) or Derna Protection Forces (DPF).

Haftar says he is trying to rid Libya of the threat of militant Islamists. Critics accuse him of branding all his opponents as “terrorists” as he seeks to expand his power.

The U.N. report said the LNA announced on Tuesday it had taken control of Derna’s highest area and the DPF subsequently announced its withdrawal from the city’s industrial zone.

“Local sources report that DPF are currently taking positions amongst civilian infrastructure in residential areas, mostly in the center of the city and reportedly in civilian clothing,” the U.N. report said, adding that civilians were being prevented from leaving the city.

Until this month, the LNA’s campaign had been largely limited to occasional air strikes and bombardments. Since May 22, indiscriminate shelling had killed at least five civilians, including two children, the U.N. said.

Egypt, which backs the LNA, has also carried out air strikes in Derna against what it said were training camps sending militants into Egypt to carry out attacks.

The LNA says its rivals in Derna are linked to al Qaeda. Jihadist group Islamic State established a presence in Derna in 2014, but was pushed out by the DMSC.

The U.N. said no aid has entered the city since mid-March, apart from a delivery of kidney dialysis materials and medication earlier this week.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s landing in Moscow on Thursday, May 31, was preceded by stealthy Iranian and Hizballah moves into three strategic locations facing Israel’s Golan border.

Hizballah troops at the nearest point are disguised in Syrian army uniforms, in respect of the Russian narrative, articulated this week by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, that only Syrian government forces should stand on the Israeli border.

Lieberman is scheduled to hold critical talks with his Russian counterpart, Gen. Sergei Shoigu, on Thursday. He is accompanied by Military Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. Tamir Hainman and the defense ministry’s senior security adviser Zohar Palti. Those talks are more pressing than ever, given the Iranian/Hizballah rapid advance on the Quneitra region just ahead of his arrival in Moscow.

That force first took up position on the hills surrounding this Syrian Golan town at Tal Misbih, Tal Arbad, Tal Marez, Tal Ghasm and Tal Ghashim. It then split into three parts. DEBKAfile’s military sources report.

One element pulled back to the Syrian army’s 10^th armored division base at Qatana, midway between Quneitra and Damascus, leaving the Iranian-Hizballah command post behind at Khan Arnabah.

A third element of the Iran-led force branched north to the village of Khadar opposite the IDF’s Mt Hermon outpost west of Majdal Shams.

These Hizballah troops, who are posted at the closest point to the Israeli border, were disguised in the uniforms of the Syrian 4^th Division and 12^thBrigade. From Khadar and the surrounding mountain villages, Hizballah has a close-up overview for the surveillance of Israel’s Golan outposts and border defenses.

Although the Iranian/Hizballah force had deployed in the last 48 hours to points just a few kilometers from the Israeli border, their presence drew no response from Israeli officials or military chiefs.

A Syrian headquarters of three senior intelligence officers was set up to coordinate the Iranian-Hizballah three-point deplolyment with the Russian military police monitors posted in the Quneitra region. We can name them as Brig.-Gen Osama Zahr ed-Din, officer in command of Syrian military intelligence southeast of Damascus; Brig.-Gen Luay Al-Ali, whose area of command is southern Syria, and Brig.-Gen. Jihad Al Za’al, head of security commissions in the South.

All parts of the combined force are pushing ahead with preparations to launch an offensive to wrest Quneitra from the the Syrian rebel militias holding the town just across from the Israeli border.