Libya: ISIS Kills 2 in Attack on Police Station

Smoke rises from a ruined house after it was hit by an air strike as fighters from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government advance into the last area controlled by ISIS, in Sirte, Libya, October 14, 2016. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from a ruined house after it was hit by an air strike as fighters from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government advance into the last area controlled by ISIS, in Sirte, Libya, October 14, 2016. (Reuters)
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Libya: ISIS Kills 2 in Attack on Police Station

Smoke rises from a ruined house after it was hit by an air strike as fighters from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government advance into the last area controlled by ISIS, in Sirte, Libya, October 14, 2016. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from a ruined house after it was hit by an air strike as fighters from Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government advance into the last area controlled by ISIS, in Sirte, Libya, October 14, 2016. (Reuters)

ISIS terrorists have killed two policemen and injured several others at a checkpoint east of the Libyan city of Ajdabiya.

The attack also led to the destruction of a military armored vehicle and an ambulance, and the seizure of some equipment.

The heavy clashes with the army also resulted in the death of 12 members of the terrorist organization.

The attack took place early on Tuesday in the eastern town of Aqilah when armed men attacked the policemen manning the checkpoint, and the group later attacked a police station and burned several police and ambulance vehicles, according to sources.

The attack is not the first of its kind in the city.

On May 22, ISIS used a car bomb on the 60th gate, south of the city, which coincided with another attack on the eastern gate of Ujlah, killing two soldiers of Battalion 152.

Ajdabiya’s Security Department revealed details of the incident in Aqilah, saying that the two soldiers killed in "the treacherous attack launched by ISIS” were Osman Issa al-Zawawi and Abdul Rahim Awad al-Denglawi al-Qabaeli. Security forces also found five bombs prepared for detonation.

Commander of Battalion 141, Brigadier General Abdullah Naji and a team of military engineering arrived at the scene and dismantled the bombs.

The Security Directorate continued that “Ajdabiya operations pursued the terrorists, and clashed with them in the area of al-Jafr, south of Aqilah, during which soldier Qabaeli was killed.”.

Al-Shaheed Hospital in Ajdabiya announced that it had received the bodies of two dead soldiers and three wounded. Local media reported that the ISIS terrorists “slit a police officer’s throat” and killed another, and the group later attacked a police station, raised the ISIS flag atop the building and burned several police and ambulance vehicles.

Al-Wasat media outlet quoted the head of the police station, Major Meftah Rahil, as saying that ISIS members also kidnapped a citizen who was driving a minibus and made sure to shoot a video of the highway before leaving.

However, Ajdabiya Operations denied claims that Othman al-Zawawi had his throat slit and confirmed that he “was shot dead”.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.