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ISIS Terrorist Attack Kills Seven in West Libya

The scene of the terrorist attack east of Tripoli on Thursday, August 23, 2018. (Reuters)
The scene of the terrorist attack east of Tripoli on Thursday, August 23, 2018. (Reuters)
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ISIS Terrorist Attack Kills Seven in West Libya

The scene of the terrorist attack east of Tripoli on Thursday, August 23, 2018. (Reuters)
The scene of the terrorist attack east of Tripoli on Thursday, August 23, 2018. (Reuters)

ISIS affiliates killed seven security personnel and injured at least 10 others Thursday in an attack on a security checkpoint in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

This attack took place shortly after the broadcast of a voice recording by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to incite his supporters to launch more terrorist attacks in several Arab countries, including Libya.

In a statement, head of Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj pledged to pursue the perpetrators of Thursday’s attack.

“They will not escape impunity and will not find a safe place for them in Libya."

He pointed out that he has given instructions to the ministry of interior and security services to probe the attack and arrest the perpetrators.

“This terrible crime is carried out only by criminals, who have been stripped out of their humanity and of all values and religious and moral laws," Sarraj said in his statement.

“Such crimes will only increase the Libyans' determination to fight terrorism.”

“Our country faces a terrorist enemy that targets its stability. We will exert all efforts to fight it and obtain every possible support to monitor, prosecute and punish the perpetrators,” Sarraj stressed.

Separately, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes Von der Muhll announced that she encourages all initiatives within the framework of UN mediation aimed at achieving reconciliation and stability in Libya.

In response to France's position on the Italian initiative backed by Washington to hold a conference on Libya, she said that Paris stresses that the political solution, under the auspices of the UN, is the only way to establish stability in a sustainable manner in Libya.

She stressed the need to adopt a constitutional basis to carry out presidential and legislative elections, which was set and approved by the main Libyan parties during the May Paris conference that brought together rival Libyan factions.

The gatherers agreed during the talks to held presidential and parliamentary elections in December.

Moreover, the French official said that Paris was following up on Italian efforts to hold a conference on Libya later this year.

After receiving American backing, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has been seeking to organize an international conference on Libya in the fall.

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Arab World

Israel Strike on Syria Kills One

Since Assad's overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line. (AFP)
Since Assad's overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line. (AFP)
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Israel Strike on Syria Kills One

Since Assad's overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line. (AFP)
Since Assad's overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line. (AFP)

An Israeli strike killed a man in southern Syria, state media reported Tuesday, with Damascus condemning the attack as a "flagrant violation" of international law.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since opposition groups toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

It has also opened talks with the interim authorities in Damascus.

"A young man was killed in an Israeli strike on a home in the village of Taranja", on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line on the Golan Heights, the official SANA news agency reported.

Syria condemned "the recent Israeli attacks on its territory, which resulted in the martyrdom of a young man", the foreign ministry said.

It also condemned the Israeli forces' incursion into a town in the Quneitra countryside, their "arrest campaigns against civilians", and their "announcement of the continuation of their illegal presence on the summit of Mount Hermon and the buffer zone".

"These aggressive practices constitute a flagrant violation of the UN Charter, international law, and relevant Security Council resolutions, and constitute a direct threat to peace and security in the region".

The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had carried out "several activities last week in southern Syria to locate weapons and apprehend suspects".

The Saudi foreign ministry said the Israeli attacks were a "flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sisterly Syrian Arab Republic and international law".

The Qatari foreign ministry called on "the international community to take decisive action against the Israeli occupation and compel it to halt its repeated attacks on Syrian territory".

Since Assad's overthrow, Israel has occupied much of a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the formerly Syria-controlled side of the armistice line, including the summit of Mount Hermon, the region's highest peak.

Last week, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Paris to push for a return to the arrangements that had been in place since a 1974 disengagement agreement.

Arab World

US to Back Extending UN Peacekeeping Mandate in Lebanon, Says Envoy

French UN peacekeepers patrol the Lebanese-Israeli border in the village of Houla, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP)
French UN peacekeepers patrol the Lebanese-Israeli border in the village of Houla, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP)
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US to Back Extending UN Peacekeeping Mandate in Lebanon, Says Envoy

French UN peacekeepers patrol the Lebanese-Israeli border in the village of Houla, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP)
French UN peacekeepers patrol the Lebanese-Israeli border in the village of Houla, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP)

US envoy Tom Barrack said on Tuesday that his country would approve the extension of United Nations peacekeepers' mandate in Lebanon for one more year.

With the UN Security Council discussing the future of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), whose mandate ends on Sunday, Barrack told journalists from Lebanon's presidential palace: "The United States' position is we will extend for one year."

Barrack noted disapprovingly that the force cost "a billion dollars a year".

The Security Council is debating a French-drafted compromise that would keep UNIFIL -- first deployed in 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon -- in place for another year while it prepares to withdraw.

The vote, which was supposed to take place on Monday, has faced US and Israeli opposition and was postponed as negotiations continued, several diplomatic sources told AFP.

In the latest draft seen by AFP, the Council would signal "its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL with the aim of making the Lebanese Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon".

Arab World

Lebanon Agrees Bail for Ex-Central Bank Chief

11 November 2019, Lebanon, Beirut: Then Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon Riad Salameh speaks during a press conference at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Lebanon. (dpa)
11 November 2019, Lebanon, Beirut: Then Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon Riad Salameh speaks during a press conference at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Lebanon. (dpa)
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Lebanon Agrees Bail for Ex-Central Bank Chief

11 November 2019, Lebanon, Beirut: Then Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon Riad Salameh speaks during a press conference at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Lebanon. (dpa)
11 November 2019, Lebanon, Beirut: Then Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon Riad Salameh speaks during a press conference at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Lebanon. (dpa)

Lebanon's judiciary agreed Tuesday to the release on bail of more than $20 million of former central bank governor Riad Salameh, detained for nearly a year on embezzlement charges, judicial officials said.

Salameh, 75, who headed the central bank for three decades, faces numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion in separate probes in Lebanon and abroad.

He is widely viewed as a key culprit in Lebanon's economic crash, which the World Bank has called one of the worst in recent history, but has defended his legacy, insisting he is a "scapegoat".

The judiciary "agreed to release Salameh on bail of $20 million in addition to five billion Lebanese pounds (around $56,000) and banned him from travel for a year starting from the date of this decision's implementation", the judicial official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.

The decision relates to a case in which Salameh is accused of embezzling $44 million from the central bank, the official said, adding that the judiciary had issued release orders for him in two other cases last month.

A second judicial official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bail amount "is the highest in the history of the Lebanese judiciary".

Salameh's lawyer Mark Habka told AFP that "the bail is high and illegal, and I will speak to my client about the next steps".

In April, a Lebanese judge issued an indictment for Salameh, charging him with embezzling $44 million from the central bank, as well as illicit enrichment and forgery. Bail was rejected at the time.

The second judicial official said the decision to release him came "in consideration of his health condition".

The official said he would in any case have been released automatically on September 4 when his pre-trial detention order expires.

Salameh, who left office at the end of July 2023, has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, saying his wealth comes from private investment and his previous work at US investment firm Merrill Lynch.