The Qatrun attack is the second for the terrorist organization ISIS in a few days, coinciding with the targeting of Ghweran prison in Hasaka, Syria, which indicates that it is trying to reorganize its ranks in Libya, taking advantage of the chaos, which carries dangerous messages for everyone inside and outside Libya, according to experts.
On Wednesday, ISIS targeted a patrol of the Umm al-Aranib Martyrs Brigade in the Libyan National Army in the municipality of Qatroun in southern Libya, killing 4 army men, who responded with an operation that killed 23 terrorists.
On January 18, ISIS claimed responsibility for detonating an explosive device at the headquarters of the town of al-Araneb, which led to the death of an army soldier and the wounding of two.
The army responds
The Libyan army responded to the Qatrun attack with an operation against ISIS cells in Jabal Asida, south of Qatrun.
According to what Major General Khaled al-Mahjoub, director of the Moral Guidance Department of the Armed Forces, published on his Facebook page on Friday, the operation resulted in the killing of 23 ISIS militants, 8 of whom blew themselves up before their arrest.
Al-Mahjoub denied what the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba, had said about the participation of a force from the Ministry of Interior in the confrontations, saying that the government had not yet provided anything to support the armed forces in securing the south and borders and combating terrorism.
Dabaiba had said on Twitter: “I have mercy on the martyrs of the homeland who rose to their righteousness while fighting ISIS in the municipality of Qatrun, and I salute the efforts of the Ministry of Interior and the forces supporting it for carrying out their duty,” and concluded by saluting the army and police.
important military operation
According to the Libyan military expert, Muhammad al-Tarhouni, the army’s operations are carried out with the participation of Major General Tariq bin Ziyad Moazez, and the 128th Brigade, and on Thursday, the 110th Battalion of the army joined them to clear Mount Asida.
Al-Tarhouni described to “Sky News Arabia” this operation as “important and continuing until the purification of the Libyan south and the control of the borders,” and that despite the rugged terrain in the Asida Mountain region, the forces are able to accomplish their mission.
In the words of the Libyan political analyst Othman Baraka, ISIS is like rain in that if the conditions are present, it descends on the ground; If the conditions of ignorance, insecurity and poverty are absent, this organization will cease to exist.
He adds to “Sky News Arabia” a larger factor, which is the continuation of the Libyan division, which he said contributes to the return of terrorism, calling on neighboring countries and the international community to assume their responsibilities; Otherwise, these organizations will threaten everyone.
dangerous messages
The researcher in the affairs of religious groups, Ahmed Sultan, considers that the lack of stability is the attractive environment for terrorists, and this carries dangerous messages.
He believes that ISIS is preparing the ground for a return through the Qatrun attack, and attracting fighters from within, migrants in Libya and foreigners in the Sahel and Sahara region, which is linked to high coordination with the organization of the West Africa Province of the terrorist organization.
In a statement, the National Human Rights Committee in Libya stressed that the expansion of its activities by ISIS is an imminent danger to all Libyans, especially in soft areas, and with the continuing state of political division and among institutions.
Accordingly, I sent a message that this danger calls for an urgent consensus between all political, social and national parties, achieving comprehensive national and social reconciliation, and speeding up the unification of the military institution and security services.
