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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Libya Checkpoint Attack, GNA Arrests Perpetrators

Libyan security patrol on August 23, 2018 near the site of an attack on a checkpoint in the city of Zliten. (AFP)
Libyan security patrol on August 23, 2018 near the site of an attack on a checkpoint in the city of Zliten. (AFP)
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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Libya Checkpoint Attack, GNA Arrests Perpetrators

Libyan security patrol on August 23, 2018 near the site of an attack on a checkpoint in the city of Zliten. (AFP)
Libyan security patrol on August 23, 2018 near the site of an attack on a checkpoint in the city of Zliten. (AFP)

Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) vowed on Sunday to punish the perpetrators of last week’s terrorist attack against a security checkpoint east of the capital Tripoli on Thursday.

The GNA Justice Ministry said it will not allow the attackers to escape punishment, ordering the general prosecutor to take the necessary legal measures against them.

It urged society to “stand against terrorism and defeat it.”

Such crimes will only make the Libyans more determined to combat terror, it added.

The ISIS terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, but it did not provide any evidence to support its claim.

On Saturday, GNA Interior Minister Abdulsalam Ashour announced that the perpetrators of the attack were arrested and investigations are underway with them.

The plotters themselves remain at large, he revealed, adding that all of the suspects are Libyan.

Preliminary investigations showed that they belong to ISIS.

The minister denied that the terror group had established a solid footing in Libya, saying that ISIS is taking advantage of the remote areas in the South to carry out its activities.

Ashour stressed that his ministry was working on halting terrorist acts in the country.

Thursday’s attack targeted a GNA special operations checkpoint.

It took place between the towns of Zliten and Khoms on the coastal road leading from Tripoli to the port city of Misrata, an area in which ISIS members are known to be operating, according to the Zliten mayor.

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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a "heinous" suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, calling for unity in the country.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said, raising an earlier toll of 22 killed.

The authorities said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group.

"We promise... that we will work night and day, mobilising all our specialized security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and to bring them to justice," Sharaa said in a statement, AFP reported.

The attack "reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation's security and stability", he added.

Condemnation has continued to pour in from the international community after the attack -- the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

It was also the first inside a church in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, according to a monitor, in a country where security remains one of the new authorities' greatest challenges.

Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged the government to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria's transition, particularly after sectarian violence in recent months.