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ISIL takeover of Derna
Part of the 2014 Libyan Civil War, and the Global War on Terrorism
Date 5 October 2014 – ongoing (10 years, 3 months and 6 days) (ISIL presence since early 2014) Location Derna, Libya Status Ongoing ISIL militants capture Derna and claim it as ISIL territory ISIL controls Derna courts, education, local radio, and other administrative facilities The Libyan Airforce launches airstrikes against Derna in response to militant bombings in other cities The US begins conducting surveillance flights over Libya
Belligerents
Libyan parliament Libyan Air Force Libyan Army Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade (Libyan rebel group)  United States (Surveillance flights)	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Military of ISIL Shura Council of Islamic Youth/Majlis Shura Shabab al-Islam (absorbed into ISIL by 14 November 2014)
Commanders and leaders
Brig. Gen. Saqr Geroushi (Commander of the Libyan Air Force)	Mohammand Abdullah Abu Nabil al Anbari
Strength
Unknown	800 fighters
Casualties and losses
	6 fighters killed 20 fighters injured

The ISIL takeover of Derna refers to the takeover of the city of Derna in Cyrenaica, Libya by the self-declared Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in late 2014, giving it complete control of the eastern Libyan coastal city with a population of 100,000.

Background

The city of Derna has been considered the most pious Muslim city in Libya and a long history of Islamist radicalism. In 2007, American troops in Iraq uncovered a list of foreign fighters for the Iraqi insurgency, and of the 112 Libyans on the list, 52 had come from Derna. Derna contributed more foreign fighters per capita to al Qaeda in Iraq than any other town in the Middle East and the city has also been a major source of fighters in the Syrian Civil War and escalation of the Iraqi insurgency, with 800 fighters from Derna joining ISIL.

ISIL takeover of Derna

In early 2014, up to 300 Libyan jihadists arrived in or returned to Derna from Syria and Iraq. They were mostly from ISIL's al Battar Brigade, a group deployed at first in Deir Ezzor in Syria and then Mosul. In the next few months, they united many local militant factions under their leadership and declared war on anyone who opposed them, killing judges, civic leaders and other opponents, including local militants who rejected their authority such as the Al-Qaeda allied group Abu Salem Brigade.

ISIL leadership in Iraq and Syria sent two men to Derna to represent ISIL. Abu Nabil al Anbari is an al-Bagdadi senior aide and veteran of the Iraq conflict. Mohammed Abdullah, also known by his nom de guerre Abu al-Baraa el-Azdi is a Yemeni or Saudi militant and preacher from Syria who became the religious judge in Derna.

On 5 October 2014, the ISIL-linked militant factions came together and pledged allegiance to ISIL. After the pledging ceremony more than 60 pickup trucks filled with fighters cruised through the city in a victory parade. A second more formal gathering took place on 30 October where militants gathered to pledge allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the city square where a handmade bomb was detonated.

Attacks and expansion across Libya

The Derna wing of ISIL in Libya is the prime suspect in a suicide bombing in Tobruk that killed one and wounded 14. Tobruk, near the Egyptian border, is the temporary home of Libya's internationally recognized parliament. The group is also suspected of a car bombing outside Labraq air force base in Al-Bayda that killed four. The Derna ISIL group claimed it had previously dispatched nine suicide bombers from Egypt, Libya and Tunisia to carry out attacks against Libyan security forces in and around Benghazi. Several of these attacks seemed to correspond to previously unclaimed suicide bombings, including a twin-attack on a Libyan special forces camp in Benghazi on July 23 and an October 2 attack on a military checkpoint near Benina airport. SITE Intelligence group reported an ISIL-linked Twitter account linked the Tripoli wing to car bomb attacks outside the Egyptian and UAE embassies in Tripoli.

The Derna branch of ISIL has around 800 fighters and has half a dozen camps in Derna's outskirts. It also has larger facilities in the Jebel Akhdar area, where fighters from North Africa are being trained. ISIL claims it has chapters in al Bayda, Benghazi, Sirte, al-Khums and the Libyan capital Tripoli. Ansar al-Sharia (Libya), a group linked to the 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and 3 others, allied with ISIL in Libya in September 2014.

On 13 November 2014, al-Baghdadi released an audio-recording in which he stated: "We announce to you the expansion of the Islamic State to new countries, to the countries of the Haramayn , Yemen, Egypt, Libya Algeria". For these countries he announced the creation of five new wilayah or provinces, each with a governor, while nullifying all local jihadist groups. These areas were singled out because the group had a strong base in them from which it could carry out attacks. However, according to analyst Aaron Zelin from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, only the groups in Sinai and Libya exercise any territorial control and the pledges from Saudi Arabia, Libya and Yemen are anonymous and not from known groups. The Long War Journal writes that the logical implication of al-Baghdadi's declaration is that the group will consider Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Libya) as illegitimate if they do not nullify themselves and submit to the group's authority.

Propaganda

The "Media Office for Wilayat al-Barqa" has published photos and other material showing buildings with ISIL insignia, suicide bombers, parades, and pledges of allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Human rights abuses and war crimes allegations

By late 2014, Derna was fully under ISIL control, with the Black Standard flying over government buildings, police cars carrying ISIL insignia, and the local football stadium being used for public executions. A Human Rights Watch report accused ISIL linked groups in control of Derna of war crimes and human rights abuses that include terrorizing residents in the absence of state authorities and the rule of law. Human Rights Watch documented 3 apparent summary executions and at least 10 public floggings by the Islamic Youth Shura Council which became ISIL in November. They also documented beheadings of three Derna residents and 250 seemingly politically motivated assassinations of judges, public officials, members of the security forces, journalists and others with no public investigations. Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW Middle East and North Africa director said “Commanders should understand that they may face domestic or international prosecution for the grave rights abuses their forces are committing.”

Under ISIL's watch, women increasingly wore ultraconservative face veils and masked men have flogged young men caught drinking alcohol. Education changes included male/female segregation of students, and the removal of history and geography from the curriculum. New "Islamic police" flyers ordered clothing stores to cover their mannequins and not display "scandalous women's clothes that cause sedition." The law school was closed.

Mohammed Battu and Sirak Qath, human rights activists in Derna who were abducted on November 6. Their bodies were found beheaded in December.

Opposition

Libyan air strikes and planned assault

On 12 November, Libyan Air Force fighters carried out airstrikes in Derna, possibly in retaliation to car bombs which exploded in Benghazi, Tobruk and Labraq Airport. Six ISIL militants were killed and 20 militants were wounded. According to Human Rights Watch some residents have fled the city in advance of an announced Libyan Armed Forces assault on Derna. Approval for a Libyan Army ground assault on Derna was given on December 6, 2014 and army units moved within a few km of Derna, taking control of villages and roads leading to the city.

US surveillance

Concern over ISIL activities in Derna has lead to December 2014 reports that US drones and electronic surveillance planes were making "constant flights" from Italian bases.

Commentary and significance

The events in Derna are seen by ISIL and its proponents as a model for ISIL expansion outside Iraq and Syria. ISIL calls this territory "Wilayah Barqa", using a term denoting eastern Libya.

The Long War Journal says that the pledges of support in Libya don't represent any well-established terrorist organizations "...the Islamic State has failed, thus far, to garner the allegiance of Ansar al Sharia Libya, which is notorious for its role in the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attacks in Benghazi and remains one of the most powerful jihadist organizations in eastern Libya. None of Ansar al Sharia's allies in the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council, the Islamist coalition fighting General Khalifa Haftar's forces for control of territory, pledged allegiance to Baghdadi. The Islamic State has supporters in Libya, particularly among the jihadist youth. But other groups are still, by all outward appearances, more entrenched."

“ISIS pose a serious threat in Libya. They are well on the way to creating an Islamic emirate in eastern Libya. Most of the local population in Derna are opposed to the takeover by the Islamic State, but, with the complete absence of any central government presence, they are not in a position to do much for now,” said Noman Benotman, a former Libyan jihadi now working in counterterrorism for the Quilliam Foundation.

"ISIS is a brand name, it has widespread recognition, and in the eyes of many adherents, it's successful." says Samer Shehata, an associate professor of Middle Eastern politics at the University of Oklahoma. Joining ISIL takes them from being little known to household names.

Libya Dawn claimed that it had intelligence reports showing that those who claimed to support Daesh in Tripoli were agents provocateur planted by foreign countries to discredit it. The statement implies that DAESH (Arabic acronym for ISIL) is present in eastern Libya, but is viewed as an attempt to explain away the growing issue of the extremists in the west. This despite the fact that DAESH (ISIL) flags have reportedly been seen recently in Tripoli and Daesh supporters are said to be present at the Majr camp in Zliten and in Sabratha.

See also

• Syrian Civil War
• Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
• 2014 Fall of Mosul
• Siege of Kobanî

References

1. ^ Cruickshank, Paul; Robertson, Nic; Lister, Tim; Karadsheh, Jomana (18 November 2014). "ISIS comes to Libya". CNN. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
2. ^ http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/libyan-army-gears-derna-assault-1618109392
3. ^ Zelin, Aaron Y. (10 October 2014). "The Islamic State's First Colony in Libya". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
4. ^ "Libyan city is first outside Syria, Iraq to join ISIS". Haaretz.com. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
5. "Derna Islamist leader killed in Benghazi". Libya Herald. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
6. ^ Ernst, Douglas (18 November 2014). "Islamic State takes Libyan city; 100K under terror group's control as chaos spreads". The Washington Times. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
7. Peraino, Kevin (19 April 2008). "Cover: The Jihadist Riddle". Newsweek. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
8. ISIS comes to Libya
9. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/18/world/isis-libya/index.html
10. http://bigstory.ap.org/article/195a7ffb0090444785eb814a5bda28c7/how-libyan-city-joined-islamic-state-group
11. Keilberth, Mirco; von Mittelstaedt, Juliane; Reuter, Christoph (18 November 2014). "The 'Caliphate's' Colonies: Islamic State's Gradual Expansion into North Africa". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
12. ^ "How a Libyan City Joined the Islamic State Group". ABC News. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
13. "Isis: Libya Baghdadi proclaimed chief of Derna Caliphate". ANSAmed. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
14. Elmenshawy, Mohamed (25 August 2014). "Egypt's Emerging Libya Policy". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
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16. "Islamic State leader urges attacks in Saudi Arabia: speech". Reuters. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
17. "Baghdadi welcomes new pledges of IS allegiance". Al Monitor. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014. "We announce to you the expansion of the Islamic State to new countries, to the countries of the Haramayn , Yemen, Egypt, Libya and Algeria," Baghdadi said.
18. "The Islamic State's Archipelago of Provinces". Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014. Baghdadi also noted that his declaration entails "nullification" of all jihadist local groups in the five places mentioned above, as well as "the announcement of new wilayat (provinces) of the Islamic State and the appointment of wulat (governors) for them."
19. ^ Joscelyn, Thomas. "Analysis: Islamic State snuff videos help to attract more followers". Long War Journal. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
20. "The Emergence of the Islamic State's 'Cyrenaica Province' (Wilayat al-Barqa) in Libya". GLORIA Center. 17 November 2014.
21. ^ Fadel, Leila (18 November 2014). "With Cash And Cachet, The Islamic State Expands Its Empire". Parallels. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
22. ^ "Libya: Extremists Terrorizing Derna Residents - Human Rights Watch". Retrieved 3 December 2014.
23. http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2014/11/11/isis-libya-two-human-rights-activists-beheaded-in-derna_a801d4de-aa06-44e7-99a6-13c4ea4a9195.html
24. Reuters (13 November 2014). "Car bombs kill at least four in Libya as chaos mounts". Times of Malta. Retrieved 18 November 2014. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
25. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/06/us-fears-isis-nothern-libya-derna
26. http://www.libyaherald.com/2014/11/21/libya-dawn-denies-the-presence-of-daesh-in-tripoli/#ixzz3Jo4YsPmW

• Battles involving the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
• Battles involving Libya
• Conflicts in 2014
• 2014 in Libya
• Derna District
• History of Cyrenaica