27 March – 2 April: ISIS captive identifies leader of kidnapping group as “Yemeni emir”

Apr 2, 2019 | ISIS

On 25 March, the Sabratha Security Directorate reported it had arrested a suspected ISIS member. The individual is to be prosecuted but no other information is available at this time.

On 28 March, a Libyan news media outlet published the testimony of a civilian kidnapped by Islamic State (ISIS) fighters late last year and held captive in a ‘prison’ on a farm in the Ghaduwwa area before being rescued by security forces. The individual recounts being taken in vehicles through the Harouj area and stopping throughout the journey to bury mines. The captive identified the leader of the ISIS group that kidnapped them as being a ‘Yemeni emir’ who has vowed to launch more raids on Fuqaha.

On 1 April, the Misrata Security Directorate reported that its Bomb Disposal Unit had disposed of four tonnes of unexploded ordinances (UXOs) planted by ISIS in east Sirte in 2016. On 28 March, the Mayor of Sirte, Mukhtar al-Madani, met with representatives of the Danish Demining Group (DDG) to establish teams to inspect former conflict zones associated with the 2016 ISIS conflict in order to detected UXOs.