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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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Kurdistan Salary Crisis Clouds Eid Celebrations in Baghdad

Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)
Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)
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Kurdistan Salary Crisis Clouds Eid Celebrations in Baghdad

Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)
Leader of the Hikma Movement Ammar al-Hakim delivers his Eid speech to supporters in Baghdad (Hikma Media)

The festivity of Eid al-Adha in Baghdad was overshadowed by growing political tensions, particularly over the unresolved salary crisis in the Kurdistan Region.

While Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani opted for a neutral gesture - issuing a general holiday greeting and performing Eid prayers without comment - other political leaders used the occasion to speak pointedly about the nation’s deepening challenges.

Al-Sudani attended Eid prayers at Al-Rasoul Mosque in the capital, choosing to remain silent on political matters. However, influential Shiite cleric and head of the Hikma Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali both delivered speeches that touched on the country’s fraught political and economic landscape.

Al-Hakim warned against the use of political money in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 11, 2025.

Calling the vote “historic,” he emphasized the need for electoral integrity and urged political blocs to adopt a national code of conduct barring the use of illicit funds. “There is talk of a market where candidates and voters are being bought. This is corruption and betrayal of the people,” he said.

He also addressed Iraq’s perennial electricity crisis, calling for a “strategic state of emergency” to resolve the issue once and for all. “Despite changing governments and large budgets, the same problems repeat themselves,” he noted.

Al-Hakim stressed the need for governments to define clear priorities, including agriculture, water, and clean energy, and said Iraqis “deserve a dignified life that begins with stable electricity and ends with technological advancement.”

Khazali, meanwhile, focused his remarks on the Kurdistan Region salary crisis, criticizing accusations from Kurdish media that he was responsible for the federal government’s suspension of public sector salaries in the region. “It’s simply not true,” he said. “Unfortunately, salaries remain unpaid to this day.”

He stressed that despite Iraq’s wealth, the country continues to suffer from poverty and unemployment, and argued that the roots of these issues lie in the legacy of the former Ba’ath regime.

Khazali also pointed out that Kurdistan experiences higher poverty rates than the rest of Iraq, and that many Iraqi refugees abroad are from the region.

Turning to the electricity crisis, he warned this summer could be the most difficult in years, as outages are expected to worsen. “All past governments focused on increasing output but ignored the need to instill a culture of energy conservation,” he said, warning that some groups may seek to exploit the crisis to sow internal unrest.