Libya’s forces infiltrate suspected terrorist cell in Tripoli
Libya’s Office of the Military Prosecutor General has announced the infiltration of a terrorist cell, according to the Moroccan government-friendly outlet North Africa Post on September 13th.
Following a deadly raid by a specialist Interior Ministry unit, a suspected terrorist cell in Tripoli’s Al-Andalus district was uncovered and dismantled.
Members of the cell opened fire, killing three security personnel and wounding one, whilst two suspects were arrested and one was injured.
Two Interior Ministry officers lost their lives in the exchange, with authorities saying the cell possessed weapons and explosives planned for attacks on Government forces and officials.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the cell included former prisoners, and one suspect confessed to affiliations with a brigade led by a senior ISIS commander in Derna.
Libya have suffered a litany of incidents linked to militia violence and potential terrorism. In Misrata, an explosion hit a weapons depot, which injured 16 people and caused significant damage to homes in the surrounding area.
Tripoli itself has been the epicentre for heightening tensions between government forces supporting the UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNU) and militia groups exploiting the political vacuum in the nation.
The Prosecutor General’s Office emphasised that the terrorist cell’s actions constitute serious crimes under Libyan law and promised to pursue the most punitive legal measures against those involved.
Additionally, the Office of the Military Prosecutor has indicated that the recruitment of this armed cell was orchestrated by the dismissed head of the Judicial Police, Osama Najeem.
Once again, the case has exposed the fragile security situation within Libya, exacerbated by terrorist cells and militia groups exploiting the vacant political space left by Libya’s fractured institutions.
Whilst the UN has begun implementing a political roadmap for Libya which seeks to unite these institutions, the endemic presence of violence, corruption and repression means that terrorist cells and anti-government hostility threatens to impede any tangible progress.
North Africa Post, Maghrebi.org, Libya Observer
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