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| Africa North |
| Operation Dignity denies loss of Benina and Air Defence base |
| 2014-08-24 |
| [Libya Herald] Rumours circulating in Benghazi that Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... and its allies have taken control of Benina Airport and a nearby Air Defence Forces' camp have been denied. Head of Saiqa Special Forces ...Libya's elite army unit, insofar as they have one, formed from a mixture of paratroopers and commandos. The group emerged from a militia with the same name in 2010. It now numbers a few thousand and reports to the Ministry of Defence. It deployed in Benghazi in an attempt to control the carnage. As a result, it has been attacked and several of its officers murdered. The force is popular in Benghazi for its stance against Ansar al-Sharia group... Investigations Unit Fadel Al-Hassi told the Libya Herald that members of Operation Dignity remained in defensive positions in both locations and had retained them despite heavy fighting nearby. Hassi said at least four members of Operation Dignity had been killed during festivities today and said he believed Ansar al-Sharia had also sustained casualties. Fighting has been reported in Benghazi in the Islamist held districts of Sidi Faraj, Guwarsha and Hawari but with, as has become usual in recent weeks, the worst of the fighting taking place in Buatni and on the approach to Benina Airport. Hassi said that, away from the fighting, Dignity forces were still the subject of liquidations. He said that today Saiqa Special Forces officer Misbah Al-Maghrebi had been shot and killed by unknown assailants in the city. |
| Posted by:Fred |