News / North Africa

Daesh bomber kills 5 in western Libyan town

Friday, 06 May 2016 1:06 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 13 May 2016 7:02 PM ]

File photo shows militiamen from the western Libya city of Misrata

A Tunisian bomber with the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a checkpoint in western Libya, killing five people.

The group claimed responsibility for the Thursday bombing near the town of Abu-Qrain, 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the city of Misrata, identifying the attacker as Khabab al-Tunisi.

The victims have been identified as members of a Misrata-based militia, who were manning the outpost.

Daesh alleged that the strike had killed "all the forces there and opened the road" for the group to take control of villages in the surrounding area. It, however, is yet to be confirmed whether the terror group controls Abu-Qrain.

Local official Mohammed Shamia, meanwhile, said warplanes taking off from Misrata had struck Daesh positions nine times since the morning, killing the group’s terrorists and destroying their vehicles.

Libya, where the Western military alliance of NATO helped overthrow longtime dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011, has been experiencing a power vacuum and is considered by many to have withered into a failed state. Daesh, which is mainly active in Syria and Iraq, has seized upon the chaos to fan out through Libya and seize control of its northern city of Sirte.

The country shares borders with Tunisia, where Daesh terrorists have killed dozens of people since last year, prompting Tunis to start bloody anti-terrorist operations and set up a 200-kilometer (125-mile)-long barrier on the common border.

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