22-28 Nov: AFRICOM Confirms 2 US Airstrikes Near Fuqaha

Nov 28, 2017 | International actors

US Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed that US forces conducted two airstrikes against targets inside Libya on 17 and 19 November respectively. According to the statement, AFRICOM worked with the Government of National Accord (GNA) to launch the two ‘precision’ airstrikes which hit ISIS fighters near Fuqaha, south of Waddan.

The statement said that, “The United States stands by our Libyan counterpart’s efforts to counter terror threats and defeat ISIS in Libya. … Our political and security goals are the same: a reconstituted Libyan state at peace internally and able to address all threats within its territory.”

On 22 November, the Egyptian air force said that, in coordination with its armed and intelligence services, it identified and destroyed 10 vehicles attempting to smuggle arms and ammunition through Libya’s western border into Egypt. It did not say when these airstrikes had taken place.

The so-called Anti Terror Quartet (ATQ) countries – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain – have added Libyan national Salem al-Jaber to their list of alleged terrorists. Jaber is a radical imam from Misrata who supported the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council.

They also added the Qatar-based World Union of Muslim Scholars, which includes Ali Sallabi as a leading member as well as Salem al-Sheikhi and Wanis al-Mabrouk al-Fasi, both from eastern Libya. Sallabi is seen as the real leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya and is an influential figure – he is already on the list as an individual.