LNA hunting terrorists down in southern Libya

The situation keeps changing in Libya and with it strategies, especially in the light of developments on the ground.

Terrorist groups are striking again, prompting the Libyan National Army (LNA) to launch an offensive to end the presence of groups that want to revive violence in the country.

ISIS attack and the Sabha gate

On June 17, the LNA said it launched an operation in southwestern Libya to hunt down terrorists and expel gangs of African mercenaries that threaten the stability and the security of the country.

The Army General Command said in a statement that it allocated additional military units from the infantry battalions to the area to support the Southwest Liberation Operations Room after takfiri gangs escalated their attacks in this area.

We monitored the moves of these gangs, al-Arabiya news channel quoted the statement of the command as saying.

The LNA indicated that its military operation comes within the framework of implementing the tasks and duties entrusted to the General Command in maintaining Libya's security and the safety of citizen and eradicating terrorism.

The army's move came in the wake of a car bomb attack in Sabha this month.

The attack left a senior security official and a policeman dead. It also caused a number of vehicles to be caught on fire.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack a short time later.

Smuggling gangs are present on a wide scale in southern Libya. Foreign terrorist factions that entered Libya after the overthrow of the regime of the late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi are also active in the same part of the country. They took control of most smuggling outlets, kidnapped citizens and blackmailed their families.