Libyan National Army: Battle for Derna Nearing End

Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar. (Reuters)
Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar. (Reuters)
TT
20

Libyan National Army: Battle for Derna Nearing End

Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar. (Reuters)
Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar. (Reuters)

The Libyan National Army, commanded by Khalifa Haftar, announced on Monday that its campaign against the last remaining terrorist pockets in the eastern city of Derna is nearing its final stages.

"The LNA controls most of the city, but there are still pockets of resistance," LNA spokesman General Ahmed al-Mismari told AFP.

Mesmari said LNA forces were focusing on "sweep operations and tracking down terrorist elements".

The spokesman called on displaced families to return to their homes in "liberated areas" of the city.

The LNA launched a ground offensive to take Derna last month after encircling the city - the last in eastern Libya to elude their control - for around two years.

The LNA is fighting a coalition known as the Derna Protection Force (DPF), which includes local combatants and extremist forces with links to groups in western Libya. The DPF includes fighters with connections to al-Qaeda, as well as foreign militants.

On Saturday and Sunday, the LNA said it had advanced in the district of Sheiha after hitting it with multiple air strikes, to the edge of Al Maghar in central Derna, a Mediterranean port.

“What remains outside the control of our forces is considered a small combat zone, less than just 10 km squared,” said Mismari. “The operations are in their final stages and the fighting is very heavy.”

On June 4, Haftar said "victory was near" for his forces in Derna.

He said the LNA would deploy across the city to take control of all areas and infrastructure, warning his troops against taking "revenge" -- in particular against terrorists who surrender and give up their arms.

The United Nations has expressed concern about the plight of Derna’s 125,000 residents, whose access to food, water, communications and medical treatment has been severely restricted.

The LNA has said it is working to restore services and deliver food to parts of Derna where it has advanced.

The Libyan Red Crescent said it had helped some 1,800 families that had been granted safe passage from areas being fought over. It said Sunday it had delivered humanitarian aid to 6,000 people in western Derna's Bab Tobruk district, in addition to thousands of others who have fled fighting in the embattled city to nearby areas.

Derna is located about 265 km (165 miles) to the west of the border with Egypt.



Israel Carries Out Intense Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon, 1 Dead

Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
TT
20

Israel Carries Out Intense Airstrikes in Southern Lebanon, 1 Dead

Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
Smoke rises after Israeli airstrikes near Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

Israel’s air force carried out intense airstrikes on mountains overlooking a southern Lebanon city on Friday in an attack that the Israeli military said targeted Hezbollah underground assets.

The airstrikes came in two waves on the mountains overlooking Nabatiyeh and bunker buster bombs were used, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported. There was no immediate information about casualties.

Since the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes on southern Lebanon. Friday’s strikes were more intense than usual.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its fighter jets struck a site used by Hezbollah to manage its fire and defense array in the area and is part of a significant underground project that was completely taken out of use.

The Israeli army said it identified rehabilitation attempts by Hezbollah beforehand and struck infrastructure sites in the area.

There was no comment from Hezbollah.

An Israeli drone also targeted on Friday an apartment in a two-story building in Nabatiyeh.

Lebanon's health ministry said a woman was killed and 11 other people were wounded in the strike.

"The Israeli enemy strike on an apartment in Nabatiyeh led to a preliminary toll of one woman killed and 11 people wounded," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official National News Agency.