Offensive against Islamic State continues in Sirte Libya

The Albinyan Almarsoos (Solid Structure) forces, loyal to the Government of National Accord, continue to make slow but steady progress against the remaining Islamic State forces encircled in part of the coastal city of Sirte.

Most of the forces are militia from the city of Misrata. Sirte was the home town of Gadaffi and is the last stronghold of the Islamic State in Libya. The battle has been most intense in the neighborhood known as 700. The Solid Structure forces were able to take control of Islamic State barricades. On Tuesday in the 700 area four foreigners and one Libyan fighter from the Islamic State were killed with no losses on the Solid Structure side. Explosive expert have been kept busy dismantling bombs that the IS inevitably leaves behind.

A recent tweet provides the casualties for battles on Wednesday June 29: "#Libya: 4 killed & 37 wounded #BonyanAlMarsous fighters amid clashes in #Sirte on Wednesday June 29, reports state 15 #ISIS fighters killed."

The Solid Structure forces uncovered a factory where the IS had been manufacturing grenades,car bombs, and other explosives in the Arches neighborhood. A Solid Structure fighter said:“This was like a headquarters for Daesh [ISIS] weaponry and they made a lot of devices and booby-traps here, out of scrap metal, We also found a lot of other items, including pieces of scrap metal, that Daesh [ISIS] used in their car bombs, to create shrapnel to make the explosion more lethal and cause the maximum damage and injuries."The extensive use of suicide bombers, and improvised explosive devices has resulted in more than 200 deaths and over 1,000 wounded Solid Structure fighters. The fighters lack basic military equipment such as helmets and bullet proof vests, resulting in many more deaths and injuries than if they were properly equipped.

Abdul Latif Riad, a fighter recovering from in a Misrata hospital said:“We never saw these kind of things when we were fighting in 2011. We found that Daesh has specialist people who know how to prepare mines and IEDs by hand. Either these people come from outside Libya, or they have been trained how to make these devices because, in 2011, we were only dealing with face-to face fighting, not these kind of IEDs.”Daesh refers to the Islamic State.

The Solid Structure forces have been aided by air strikes. Apparently a small group of special forces from the US and the UK are helping out by providing intelligence and locating targets for the air strikes and also for artillery on the ground. Yesterday there were at least five air raids allowing Solid Structure forces to gain ground. General Mohamed Ghasri, spokesperson for the forces, claimed there are still thousands of civilians trapped in the area occupied by the IS. He said: “They’ve made civilians into human shield(s), keeping them from leaving the city and using their houses as bases,”

The New York Times has a reporter right at the front in Sirte. He provides an interesting and detailed report right from the scene. The report also has an interesting interview with one of the commanders, who claims that it is Haftar, not the Islamic State, who is the biggest danger in Libya. The account also confirms other reports that UK and U.S. special forces are helping out with the offensive by providing intelligence.

Forces loyal to GNA are preparing for a final assault on the Islamic State in Sirte

The Solid Structure operations forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord have made further gains and are preparing for a final assault on the remaining fighters of the Islamic State surrounded in the center of Sirte.

The Solid Structure forces, mostly militia from Misrata have managed to seize the IS radio station that broadcast IS propaganda. The radio station broadcast speeches by the IS head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. They have also gained control of a mosque. The media center for Solid Structure said that 18 of their forces had been killed in fighting on Tuesday and dozens of IS fighters were killed. Part of Sirte is the only territory that IS now controls in Libya. The offensive against IS was launched last month and ended up surrounding the remaining IS fighters in Sirte. However, they have had to consolidate their positions and fend off suicide attacks and snipers on buildings. The new offensive also gained control of the Electricity Company, Baher neighborhood and many parts of 700 neighborhood.

There have been heavy loses recently by the militia forces. On Tuesday alone, 18 fighters were killed and 60 more wounded. The Misrata hospital has not been able to cope with the casualties. Some planes carrying the wounded to Europe have been unable to land and there have been complaints about the treatment of the wounded in some countries. Casualty figures vary. Another recent article claims that on Tuesday 34 militia forces were killed and 100 injured. A tweet lists 34 killed and 45 injured: "34 killed + 45 injureid In #sirt battle today from GNA LNA." Another tweet claims: "Death toll of Sirte clashes has risen to 36 fighters from Misrata-led forces."Another tweet about the lack of help from the Presidential Council (PC) of the Government of National Accord (GNA) complains: "@KoblerSRSG and not shocked with 50 fell due to no support from your pc?" The reference is to Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG), who many feel has done little to help the Misrata militia in their offensive against the Islamic State. However their do seem to be a small number of special forces both from the UK and the US that have been helping the militia.

The militia forces said on Tuesday that they are preparing for a final assault on iS, after repelling a number of counter-attacks. In a statement the group said:"Despite apparent calm along the fronts, our intelligence network is in full swing in preparation for the decisive battle.(ISIS fighters) are besieged in a small area of Sirte and although they have sought to break out our forces have repelled all attempts.."

General Khalifa Haftar, who announced over three weeks ago that he was marching to liberate Sirte, has had not a single clash with IS forces while the Solid Structure forces advanced from the west and the Petroleum Facilities Guard(PFG) from the east. General Haftar does not recognize the GNA nor its forces and refuses to join a unified command with the Presidential Council in charge. He is also a foe of Ibrahim Jodhran who heads the PFG. Haftar has been busy attacking the Shura Council of Jihadists who were instrumental in driving IS from Derna and its surroundings. Haftar considers them Al Qaeda although they deny any connection to the group. Haftar is commander in chief of the Libyan National Army(LNA) of the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) which also does not recognize the GNA.

The HoR is to be the legislature of the GNA according to the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) but first the HoR must vote confidence in the GNA. There have been many meetings of the HoR with lack of a quorum and two disrupted with no votes. It is not clear when the HoR will even vote for the GNA since those who accept the GNA also demand that Haftar stay on as head of the armed forces of the GNA. The LPA makes the PC the head of the armed forces.

Forces loyal to Libyan unity government continue to encircle the Islamic State in Sirte

The media office of the Albunyan Almarsoos (Solid Structure) that is in charge of the battle in Sirte against the Islamic State, announced that 10 of its forces were killed and seven injured in a suicide car bomb attack by ISIS in Abu Grein.

The report said that the attack on the Abu Grein police station was at dawn on Thursday. The killed and injured were from Abu Grein, Misrata, and Sebha. Abu Grein was liberated almost three weeks ago by Solid Structure forces, mostly militia from Misrata. The town is about 140 km west and south of Sire. On Twitter there is a video of the event. The attack shows that there are sleeper cells of IS ready to launch attacks even though the IS no longer controls significant territory. One can expect that IS will resort to attacks in major cities and launch guerrilla-type warfare rather than holding territory.

Forces loyal to the GNA claim they have consolidated their siege around the Islamic State in Sirte. The IS controls only a 15 to 20 square mile area in central Sirte. The consolidation is for a final battle to take Sirte. The IS has been launching counterattacks with suicide bombers that are taking a heavy toll both within Sirte and outside as in the Abu Grein attack. Several bomb attacks have been foiled. One attack killed three people at a field hospital. The anti-IS troops have captured an ammunition stockpile and supposedly fended off an IS attack to retake the port. After losing the port, the IS cannot be resupplied by sea.

Twitter is a virtual battlefield as IS and the Misrata militia trade competing photos and videos showing that they control the port. One tweet shows the Solid Structure forces at the port: #Libya : @centre_ly released a video, dating as of today of #Sirte harbour. Troops seem to be at east of the harbour, A commentator notes that the IS video could be at the west end of the harbour. Often photos or videos have no date and are from another time.

The Solid Structure forces appear to be holding on to their gains. The Solid Structure operations room said:“Our forces drove back an advance in which Daesh used mortar bombs and one tank along with snipers located on high buildings, Our forces continued targeting IS positions in the vicinity of Ouagadougou conference centre, The Libyan air force carried out a number of sorties, while engineers continued sweeping the liberated areas of landmines and explosives.”The Ouagadougou conference center is a three-hectare area of sprawling halls built by Muammar Gaddafi to host African Union meetings. It is used as a headquarters by the IS. The Solid Structure coalition has made great gains since the offensive started early last month.

On the eastern front, the Petroleum Facilities Guard has also advanced capturing several towns in the eastern part of IS territory including Ben Jawad, Nofiya, and Harawa. Meanwhile Khalifa Haftar has yet to engage in the battle for Sirte even though he announced over three weeks ago that he was marching to liberate the city. Instead he has been attacking Derna and the Shura Council that was instrumental in liberating Derna from the IS. Haftar has been criticized by many for the resulting civilian casualties.

Military officials told the Libya Channel that IS is launching vigorous counter attacks, with suicide bombers, booby traps, and snipers, that has stalled the advance of Sold Structure troops. As the Abu Grein attack shows the IS can still strike far behind the front lines. Medical officials says that so far a total of 145 pro-GNA troops have been killed and about 500 injured. On Tuesday, five were said to be killed and 37 wounded in a counter-attack.

Spokesperson for the Solid Structure, Brigadier General Mohamed al-Gasri, urged the international community to help with the wounded. Some flights containing the wounded have not been allowed to land in Europe and there are complaints about treatment in Tunisia and elsewhere. Al-Gasri said: “Our sons are hospitalized and their condition is pitiful, but there is no support from the international community on whose behalf we fight this war>”

Haftar rejects the GNA and its officials. He refuses to join a unified command saying:“Firstly, We have no links with Mr Seraj and the Presidential Council which he leads is not recognized by the parliament,

Secondly, on this unified command center, I would like to stress that Mr Serraj relies on militia and we refuse them. An army cannot unify with militias so they must be dismantled. It’s unthinkable to work with these armed factions,”