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Libyan National Army Seizes Turkish Vessel

Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari. (AFP)
Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari. (AFP)
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Libyan National Army Seizes Turkish Vessel

Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari. (AFP)
Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari. (AFP)

The east-based Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, seized a Turkish vessel heading to the western town of Misrata.

Turkey is the main backer of the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is based in Tripoli.

The military forces stopped the Jamaica-flagged cargo vessel, Mabrouka, on Monday off the eastern port town of Derna, said LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari.

The vessel’s crew includes nine Turkish sailors, seven from India and one from Azerbaijan, he said.

Mismari revealed the vessel entered a “no sail” zone and did not respond to calls from the naval forces.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday confirmed the vessel’s seizure, warning about “dire consequences” and calling on the LNA to allow the ship to resume its planned voyage, according to a statement carried by the state-run Anadolu news agency.

It is the second Turkish-owned vessel seized by the LNA forces this year, according to Ambrey Intelligence, a British private maritime intelligence firm. In 2020, they seized at least six ships.

In October, the Libyan warring sides agreed to a UN-brokered ceasefire, a deal that envisioned the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya within three months.

Last month, Turkey and Germany traded barbs over the search of a Turkish freight ship by a European Union military mission in the Mediterranean aimed at enforcing the Libyan arms embargo, in a move Ankara called illegal.

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Remains of 30 People Believed Killed by ISIS Found in Syria in a Search by Qatar and FBI 

Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
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Remains of 30 People Believed Killed by ISIS Found in Syria in a Search by Qatar and FBI 

Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)
Journalist James Foley responds to questions during an interview with The Associated Press, in Boston, May 27, 2011. (AP)

The remains of 30 people believed to have been killed by the ISIS group have been found in a remote Syrian town in a search led by Qatari search teams and the FBI, according to a statement from Qatar on Monday.

The Qatari internal security forces said the FBI had requested the search, and that DNA tests are currently underway to determine the identities of the people. The Qatari agency did not whom the American intelligence and security agency is trying to find.

Dozens of foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were killed by ISIS militants who had controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq for half a decade. The extremist group lost most of its territory in late 2017 and was declared defeated in 2019.

Since then, dozens of gravesites and mass graves have been discovered in northern Syria containing remains and bodies of people ISIS had abducted over the years.

American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as humanitarian workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig are among those killed by ISIS.

John Cantlie, a British correspondent, was abducted alongside Foley in 2012, and was last seen alive in one of the extremist group's propaganda videos in 2016.

The search took place in the town of Dabiq, near Syria's northern border with Türkiye.

Mass graves have also found in areas previously controlled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who was ousted in a lightning insurgency last December, ending his family's half-century rule. For years, the Assads used their notorious security and intelligence agencies to crack down on dissidents, many who have gone missing.

The United Nations in 2021 estimated that over 130,000 Syrians were taken away and disappeared during the peaceful uprising that began in 2011 and descended into a 13-year civil war.