Illustrative image, source: LNA media office.
On May 29, the Libyan National Army (LNA) conducting an anti-terrorism operation in the southern Libyan town of Qatrun and its surroundings.
Several units of the army took part in the limited anti-terrorism operation, which was reportedly backed by the Libyan Air Forces.
Director of the Moral Guidance Department at the LNA’s General Command, Major General Khaled Mahjoub, told the UAE-based al-Arabiya TV that the decision to launch the operation was taken after detecting movements by terrorist groups around Qatrun.
Libyan sources told al-Arabiya that the operation was concluded with the captured of a senior commander of ISIS without providing any further details. The sources also said that the LNA destroyed six vehicles in the course of the operation.
This was the LNA’s second operation around Qatrun this year. In January, the army killed 24 terrorists of ISIS near the town during a large-scale operation.
Both ISIS and al-Qaeda are known to be active in Libya’s southern region, mainly near the border with border with Niger and Chad. The LNA is the main Libyan forces fighting these terrorist groups. Factions in the capital Tripoli, who are backed by Turkey, rarely engage in anti-terrorism operations.
While terrorist activities declined in Libya in recent years, the country is still instable and without a central, functional government. ISIS and al-Qaeda will likely continue to try to take advantage of this situation.