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.



Israel Ready to Negotiate Permanent Gaza Ceasefire during 60-day Truce, Netanyahu Says

09 July 2025, US, Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking with the press at the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: Douglas Christian/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
09 July 2025, US, Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking with the press at the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: Douglas Christian/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Israel Ready to Negotiate Permanent Gaza Ceasefire during 60-day Truce, Netanyahu Says

09 July 2025, US, Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking with the press at the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: Douglas Christian/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
09 July 2025, US, Washington: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking with the press at the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: Douglas Christian/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will likely have a ceasefire agreement with Hamas to release more Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian group. 

Netanyahu said 50 hostages were still being held captive by Hamas. Of that figure, he said, only 20 are believed to be alive. 

"I want to take them all out. We now have a deal that supposedly will get half of the living and half of the dead out," Netanyahu said in an interview on Newsmax show "The Record with Greta Van Susteren" that aired on Thursday. 

"And so we'll have 10 living left and about 12 deceased hostages, but I'll get them out, too. I hope we can complete it in a few days." 

On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's retaliation has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, Gaza's health ministry says, and reduced much of Gaza to rubble. 

The two sides have had two ceasefires - one in November 2023 and another in January 2025- since the fighting started. 

Netanyahu said Israel and Hamas will likely have a 60-day ceasefire, which the two sides could use to try to end the conflict. 

Hamas said on Wednesday there were several sticking points in the ongoing ceasefire talks including the flow of aid, withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and "genuine guarantees for a permanent ceasefire." 

Netanyahu's interview with Newsmax comes as he wraps his third visit to Washington since President Donald Trump took office in January. 

Speaking of Trump, the Israeli leader said his country has never had "such a friend, such a support of Israel, the Jewish state in the White House." 

Last month, the US joined Israel in striking Iran, a move that Trump has said "obliterated" three of Iran's nuclear sites. 

When asked about a damage assessment, Netanyahu said, "Within months, they could have produced atomic bombs."