Libyan National Army Eliminated IS Ringleader In North Africa - Spokesman

The spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA), Ahmad al-Mismari, said on Wednesday that LNA has eliminated one of the ringleaders of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) in North Africa

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2020) The spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA), Ahmad al-Mismari, said on Wednesday that LNA has eliminated one of the ringleaders of the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) in North Africa.

Al-Mismari said that on September 15, the LNA announced that it killed nine IS militants during the operation in the south-western part of Libya.

"It was announced that the leader of the militants group in Libya, known as Abu Abdullah al-Libi, was among those eliminated. However, after conducting an investigation, detaining two more IS militants in the Gadwa area and collecting evidence, it turned out that the one eliminated was Abu Moaz al-Iraqi, also known as Abu Abdullah al-Iraqi, the leader of the IS ring in North Africa, who arrived in Libya on September 12, 2014," al-Mismari said.

According to the LNA spokesperson, al-Iraqi arrived in Libya using a fake passport and his real name was Abdullah al-Rubii. The terrorist was of Kurdish origin and became the IS ringleader in North Africa after the killing if Abu Nabil al-Anbari in 2015.

The ongoing confrontation in Libya involves the Government of National Accord (GNA) that controls Tripoli and territories in the west of the country and the LNA that supports interim authorities sitting in Tobruk and controls the east of the country. The GNA is supported by Turkey and Qatar, and the LNA is backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.