TRIPOLI: A Daesh leader who allegedly planned and funded three deadly attacks in the Libyan capital Tripoli in 2018 has been apprehended, according to the country’s prime minister on Thursday.
“Our forces apprehended on Tuesday a leader of the terrorist organization Daesh, involved in the planning and command of terrorist acts that targeted our country’s institutions and their fallen officials,” Abdelhamid Dbeibah, the head of the UN-backed Libyan government, said during a live television broadcast.
The government’s media office provided no additional information on the alleged jihadist’s identify or country, who was apprehended in a joint military operation.
Dbeibah also stated that his government will “combat terrorism in all its forms,” “prosecute anyone involved” in terrorist actions, and “strengthen stability throughout the country.”
On May 2, 2018, 14 persons were killed in a suicide bombing claimed by Daesh on the Libyan High Electoral Commission headquarters in Tripoli.
On September 10, 2018, a suicide attack by a jihadist organization on the offices of the Libyan National Oil Company in Tripoli killed two people and injured ten others.
On December 25, 2018, three persons were killed, including a Libyan diplomat, in an attack claimed by Daesh on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Daesh has used the collapse of Libya’s security apparatus since the overthrow of dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011 to carry out a number of fatal strikes across the country. It has also established strongholds in the eastern and northern towns of Derna and Sirte, respectively, from where it was forced out in 2018 and 2016.
Source: Reuters