Islamic State is gaining ground in Libya, says senior official

The Islamic State group is gaining ground in Libya and a new international approach is needed to address the growing threat, a senior Libyan official said Thursday. Aref Ali Nayed, Libya’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and an adviser to Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani, was in Washington and New York this week to discuss the new challenges on Libya’s security front. “ISIS is growing in Libya, exponentially. ISIS is committing atrocities every day,” Nayed said in an interview with AFP, using the acronym for the Islamic State. “It’s not possible to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria without also addressing the Libyan component.” The United Nations has blacklisted one of Libya’s jihadist groups, Ansar al-Sharia, for its ties to IS, but Nayed said the militias are adept at “rebranding” to maintain and expand their links with IS. Nayed estimates that IS is active in seven Libyan cities and has carried out attacks in a dozen areas. [caption id=“attachment_2057941” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] An attack on the luxury Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli last week was claimed by IS while an assault on an oil field this week may have also been carried out by an IS-linked group. Nayed raised concerns about an influx of foreign fighters into Libya – from Yemen, Tunisia, Algeria and from Chechnya – whom he said were recruited by IS. He warned that Libya could be used as a base for attacks in Europe – “only an hour away” by plane. “We see a distinct absence of strategy to address ISIS globally,” said Nayed. “It is the most existential threat to my country.” Libya has been wracked by conflict for the past four years, with rival governments and powerful militias battling for control of key cities and the country’s oil riches. Libya’s internationally recognized government is based in the far east of the country, near the Egyptian border, while the Islamist-backed Fajr Libya militia alliance took control of Tripoli last summer. AFP