Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army, has launched a retaliatory offensive targeting Sudanese and Chadian militias in the war-torn country’s south, like reported by warisboring.com.

On Jan. 15, 2018 near the Jaghboub Oasis, close to the Egyptian border in Libya’s northeast, Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement fighters killed six soldiers from the Libyan National Army’s 106th Infantry Brigade and the 501st Brigade. JEM captured one LNA soldier.

The 106th is a salafist Brigade led by Abdulrahman Hashim Al Kilani from the southern Kufrah region. The 501st Brigade is a small reconnaissance unit that is normally responsible for protecting and securing of Tobruk International Airport and Gamal Abdel Nasser air base.

Three days after the ambush, the LNA launched Operation Desert Fury. It began with air strikes targeting militia vehicles.

Brig. Gen. Al Mabrook Al Ghazwi, the acting mayor of Al Kufra in southeast Libya, said that some warplanes engaged in the operation flew from Al Kufra airport. But there’s reason to doubt his claim.

Satellite imagery dated Jan. 18 indicates no military activity at Al Kufra airport. It’s likely the Egyptian air force carried out the initial bombings in cooperation with the LNA.

Sudanese and Chadian armed groups have been in southern Libya since at least 2013. Some of these militias support the Libyan National Army while others support the LNA’s rivals based in Misrata.

The pro-LNA Sudan Liberation Army deployed to Libya starting in March 2015. By March 2016, they had gained a measure of autonomy and played a key role in the LNA’s capture and protection of oil installations.

Meanwhile, the Chadian group Rassemblement des Forces Democratiques, or RFC, had started operating in the southeast of Libya by the end of 2015. It was allegedly involved in attacks against drug traffickers’ convoys.

The LNA had made overtures to the JEM, too, according to a June 2017 report from the U.N. Security Council’s Panel of Experts for Libya. But the JEM and the LNA ultimately came to blows. In September 2016, JEM fighters reportedly kidnapped four Libyans near Jaghboub and demanded ransom. A month later, the LNA’s 106th Brigade kiled 13 JEM fighters.

The Chadian group Front pour l’Alternance et la Concorde au Tchad, or FACT, has been in Libya since 2014. Misrata-allied forces recruited FACT fighters in 2017 following hard fighting in Sirte, Sabha, Al Jufra and Braq Al Shati. FACT participated in the Benghazi Defend Brigade’s March 2017 attack on the Ras Lanuf and Sidra oil terminals.

On Jan. 22, 2018, the LNA claimed to have destroyed 18 Chadian militia vehicles out of a convoy of 25 in an ambush south of Al Kufra.

Israeli intelligence believes that Hamas is focusing on greatly improving its drone capabilities in the Gaza Strip, in light of Israel’s success in intercepting rockets and destroying, cross-border tunnels. Rebels and terror organizations in the region are increasingly using attack drones, as was apparently the case earlier this month in an assault on Russia’s airbase in Syria, like reported by haaretz.com.

The use of drones by such Middle Eastern organizations is not new, of course. Hezbollah launched three Iranian-made Ababil reconnaissance drones into Israeli territory in the 2006 Second Lebanon War, all of which were shot down by Israel Air Force fighter jets. Hamas has also a number of Ababils, which have been spotted over Gaza, but these drones are mainly used for surveillance and have been easily located, tracked and intercepted. In the decade since the Ababil reached Hezbollah and Hamas, the entire drone industry has changed, opening up new possibilities for changing the battlefield.

Driven by commercial demand, the mass production of small and increasingly capable drones and quadcopters has made these unmanned aircraft cheap and accessible. It was a matter of time before they would be utilized by resourceful armed organizations that don’t have the financial resources of a state.

A number of the groups fighting in the Syrian civil war have produced footage shot by cameras on drones. Hezbollah even disseminated a video claiming to show a bomb being dropped by one of its drones on rebel positions, although the image may have been photoshopped.

The attack that took place three weeks ago on Russia’s Khmeimim airbase on Syria’s Mediterranean coast seems to have been much more ambitious.

There are different versions of what happened there. The Russian military originally denied there had been an attack, but then acknowledged it had taken place. There may have been more than one attack and according to some reports, soldiers were killed and aircraft damaged. What does seem to have happened was that a “swarm” of drones – between 10 and 12 – were launched on a “suicide” mission from a point that was over 20 kilometers (about 12.5 miles) east of the base. The drones, which were filled with explosives and guided by GPS, were either programmed, or controlled from afar, to impact on the base’s runway.

Russia claims to have intercepted and shot down seven of them with anti-aircraft missiles; other reports say the drones got through and caused extensive damage. Either way, this seems to have been the most complex drone strike ever undertaken by a non-state actor. It was likely carried out by Harakat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – an Islamist rebel group aligned with Al-Qaida.

The drones themselves, at least those presented by the Russian military to the media, are not particularly sophisticated, and wouldn’t have cost more than a few thousand dollars, probably less. However, the way they have been upgraded and used in this operation is unprecedented.

“Hamas are working on similar things now in Gaza,” said a senior Israeli officer last week. Development of its drone wing makes sense for Hamas, as its previous investments in building a large rocket arsenal in the Strip and in creating a network of cross-border tunnels to attack Israeli targets have been rendered near-obsolete.

Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system has achieved an interception rate of over 90 percent, and newly installed underground sensors have detected tunnels, which have been promptly destroyed. Hamas is now investing in new attack options, acquiring and upgrading drones and training frogmen.

In recent years, during military parades in Gaza, Hamas has showcased some of its drones, but following the assassination in Tunisia in December 2016 of Mohammed Zawahri, an engineer believed to have been developing drones for the Islamist organization, it has lowered the profile on its drone project.

Hamas has accused Israel of being responsible for Zawahri’s death. Six months ago, Al Jazeera claimed that Hamas had received 30 drones that were manufactured by Zawahri’s team, with Iranian guidance. But the most recent reports from Syria demonstrate that an organization like Hamas doesn’t necessarily need a state to supply it with ready-made drones or knowhow.

The drone threat on the Gaza border is not new. For a couple of years now, Israel Defense Forces officers stationed there have reported a major increase of small quadcopters hovering over them. Meanwhile, a number of armies and defense industries around the world are developing anti-drone systems, utilizing everything from shotguns, nets, sniper-rifles, radio signal jammers and electronic warfare systems to commandeer the drones and land them safely. Senior defense sources have said that Israel is working on a variety of countermeasures, but no details have been disclosed.

The official spokesperson of the Armed Forces Tamer al-Refai stated on Tuesday that the Second Field Army’s law enforcement forces in North Sinai have launched several anti-terror operations, like reported by egyptindependent.com.

Military forces killed two highly Islamist militants and arrested another two while they were going to carry out terrorist operations against the armed forces. Several suspected persons were arrested and investigated by authorities, according to an army statement.

The military forces further discovered and destroyed several hotspots which the militants use for hiding and monitoring the forces, the statement added.

Meanwhile, a four-wheel drive car was destroyed and six bombs were detonated as they were prepared to target the forces on the main roads.

A 10 meter deep tunnel was destroyed in North Sinai, containing motor and electric cables.

Refai added that the military forces also seized a vehicle containing large amounts of substances which the militant elements use for making explosive devices, in addition to three cars containing quantities of drugs.

Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that the Israeli army formed a Special Reserve Force, made up of local residents from the Nitzana neighbourhood – which lies adjacent to the Egyptian borders – in order to respond against attacks from the Islamic State group (IS) and confront the terrorist organization.

The force will work alongside former vets of the Israeli army, as well as former members of Israel’s police forces, with the purpose of launching rapid counter-responses against IS, after the group’s growing presence in the Israeli-bordering North Sinai.

Maariv quoted an unnamed Israeli military officer, responsible for a military unit on the Egyptian-Israeli borders, as saying that the force will lay the foundation for forming a major military unit to respond to terrorist threats in the region.

More than 3,000 Tunisians have left to fight for al-Qaeda, Islamic State group and other militant factions in Iraq, Syria and Libya, like reported by middleeasteye.net

Tunisian security forces killed a senior member of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) who was wanted by Algeria for two and a half decades, officials said.

“A terrorist wanted by Algeria since 1993 was killed in an operation carried out by the Special Unit of the National Guard,” Tunisian interior ministry spokesman Khlifa Chibani said Saturday.

A security source said the person killed was Bilel Kobi, an Algerian who was close to the network’s leader Abdelmalek Droukdel.

Kobi had been charged with overseeing links between the network, known by its French initials AQMI, and its Tunisian branch, the official said on condition of anonymity.

More than 3,000 Tunisians have left over the last few years to fight for al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (IS) group and other militant factions in Iraq, Syria and Libya. Authorities are trying to prepare for the threat posed by their return.

Another Algerian, Bechir Bin Neji, thought to have been the commander of an AQMI cell in the Sammama region of Tunisia, was also found dead with an assault rifle by his side, Chibani said.

The Friday evening operation took place in the Mount Sammama area of central-western Tunisia, which lies in a range of hills that are a favoured hideout of al-Qaeda and IS.

It is adjacent to Mount Chaambi, considered to be the militants’ main rear base near the border with Algeria.

The area is the scene of regular clashes between the army and militant groups.

Deadly attacks

Tunisian authorities announced last spring that they had killed several members of AQMI’s Tunisia branch, which had claimed a series of deadly attacks against security forces.

Since its 2011 revolution, Tunisia has faced a militant insurgency responsible for the deaths of dozens of soldiers, police, civilians and foreign tourists.

Tunisia has been under a state of emergency since November 2015, when a suicide bombing in Tunis claimed by IS killed 12 presidential guards.

The last major attacks were a series of deadly operations in 2015 and an IS offensive into the town of Ben Guerdane on the Libyan border in March 2016.

Sudanese rebels reportedly killed six Libyan National Army (LNA) soldiers and captured another yesterday, near the Jaghboub Oasis close to the Egyptian border, like reported by middleeastmonitor.com.

Daesh were initially thought to be behind the attack but news soon emerged that the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) was behind the attack.

The seven soldiers were reportedly part of the LNA’s desert patrol brigades and border guards. Six of their bodies were found in the desert with the seventh missing and presumed abducted by JEM.

In October 2016, 13 members of JEM were killed near Jaghboub in clashes with a Kufra-based brigade allied with the LNA. A month later, six Libyans were kidnapped south of Jaghboub by JEM while touring the area and later released after a ransom was paid.

JEM are viewed as mercenaries who work with those willing to pay them and allow them free movement. JEM has also grown increasingly close to notable figures in the Islamist-led Benghazi Defence Brigades.

According to a UN Libya Experts Panel final report that was presented to the Security Council last year, a significant presence of foreign groups has added to the escalation of violence in the country and fragile security conditions. Amongst those cited were JEM and the Sudan Liberation Army.

An Egyptian national was arrested by military forces affiliated to Libya’s interim government, known as the Government of National Accord. During interrogations, he admitted that he has helped smuggle Egyptian members of the Islamic State group from the Libyan city of Sirte to a newly established IS cell in the south of Libya, like reported by egyptindependent.com.

According to a statement released by the Libyan army known as El-Bonyan El Morsos, the Egyptian was arrested through coordination with security apparatuses based in the Bou Hadi province located 15 kilometers from Sirte.

It added that after intensive interrogations, the Egyptian national admitted to smuggling Egyptians affiliated to IS from Sirte to the south of Libya, but the statement did not mention the name of the arrested Egyptian or any further details on him.

No statement has yet been issued by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on the arrest.

Despite the setbacks of IS militants in the Libyan cities of Benghazi and Sirte, a number of its members who have managed to flee are still able to execute retaliatory military operations.

In October last year, four suicide attackers affiliated with IS targeted a court complex in the Libyan city of Misrata, situated 187 km to the east of Tripoli, that led to the death of three security members.

The Libyan areas of Sirte and El-Helal, which is renowned for its oil riches, are considered one of the most active areas where IS remnants operate.