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| Africa North |
| Two killed in Benghazi |
| 2014-07-17 |
| [Libya Herald] A 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... sergeant and a retired special forces soldier turned imam are there latest victims of violence in Benghazi. A doctor at Benghazi Medical Centre informed the Libya Herald that Mohammed Al-Shahoubi, a sergeant in the Saiqa Special Forces, died last night at the hospital. He was taken to the hospital after sustaining a critical injury during the recent festivities that occurred at Jalaa Hospital between the Saiqa and 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... Ansar al-Sharia has been occupying the hospital. On Monday, Saiqa forces attacked, attempting to drive Ansar forces away from the hospital. The attack resulted in seven dead and 35 injured. Meanwhile, ...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo drew a bead on his old enemy and squeezed the trigger... Sheikh Rajab Itloba was killed in a kaboom early this morning. He had just finished dawn prayers at the Malik Mosque in the Al-Sabri neighbourhood when a bomb that had been placed beneath his car detonated. A doctor at Benghazi Medical Centre confirmed that the imam had been hit by shrapnel, resulting in his death. A friend who was with him was also struck and is receiving treatment at the hospital. Itloba was formerly a soldier in the Saiqa Special Forces, and had become an Imam after retiring from military service |
| Posted by:Fred |