• The #IslamicState in #Libya managed to penetrate an air base Friday on the outskirts of capital #Tripoli that serves as the cities only working airport. 3 members of the Special Deterrence Force (#SDF), a 700+ member #militia loyal to the internationally recognised Tripoli government, were killed defending the base from 4-8+ militants who detonated explosives and were also killed after a brief firefight with airport guards. The attack came Friday on the #Mitiga airbase, once used by the U.S. air force, marks another event in the feud between the Islamic State’s affiliate in #Libya and the Special Deterrence Force commanded by a hardline Islamist, Abd al-Rauf Kara. Kara’s force has clashed several times with IS, most notably last January when his men were the first on the scene to battle jihadists who had stormed the landmark #Corinthia #Hotel and killed 10 people as they went looking for Westerners to slaughter. A U.S. security contractor staying at the hotel was killed. Kara rarely speaks with Western journalists, the SDF leader warned that #IS in Libya is likely to grow exponentially unless order is restored to Libya quickly. He estimated that IS had about 2k+ fighters in Libya, although some of his lieutenants put the number closer to 3k+. IS can also call upon other jihadist militias such an #Ansar al-#Sharia, which U.S. officials say was behind the 2012 assault on the U.S. diplomatic compound in #Benghazi and the death of #Ambassador #Christopher #Stevens. #ISlS later claimed responsibility on Twitter for Friday’s attack, saying the operation was aimed at releasing “detained Muslims who are undergoing torture” at the facility run by the SDF. #AtlasNewsUpdateLibya
