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”.



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.