Top IS commanders ”taking refuge” in Libya

Several senior commanders from the so-called Islamic State have moved to Libya from Iraq and Syria in recent months, according to a top Libyan intelligence official. The official said increasing numbers of foreign fighters had arrived in the city of Sirte. Representatives from 23 countries, including the US and UK, met in Rome on Tuesday […]

Several senior commanders from the so-called Islamic State have moved to Libya from Iraq and Syria in recent months, according to a top Libyan intelligence official. The official said increasing numbers of foreign fighters had arrived in the city of Sirte.
Representatives from 23 countries, including the US and UK, met in Rome on Tuesday to discuss the growing threat from Islamic State (IS) in Libya.
IS took control of Sirte last year. Disagreements between rival administrations in the country have hampered efforts to fight IS.
Sirte was the hometown of the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The Islamist group is believed to have received support from some loyalists of the former regime.
But Ismail Shukri, the head of intelligence in the city of Misrata, said there had been an influx of foreign fighters in recent months. "The majority [of IS fighters in Sirte] are foreigners, around 70%. Most of them are Tunisians, followed by Egyptians, Sudanese and a few Algerians.