Alwaght- A car bomb hit Libya's port city of Derna on Sunday, claiming lives of seven people and injuring 19 others.
No group has claimed responsibility for the car bomb in the remote city controlled by so-called Islamists outside government control.
A while ago, as ISIS beheaded some Egyptian Christians on the coast of Libya, the terrorist activities in this African country received the attention of the authorities and the media. They also beheaded 17 Fajr Libya militias, blew up several car bombs, and launched an attack on Corinthia hotel, the safest place of Tripoli government while the former prime minister, Omar al-Hassi, and other Libyan government officials were at the hotel.
But ISIS was expelled from Derna in June by rival Islamist groups backed up by residents angry over the arrival of foreign fighters and clerics in the city.
ISIS terrorists were trying on Sunday to retake Derna, residents said. The rival Islamist Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade managed to repulse their attack, but fighting with heavy weapons raged on the eastern edge of the city late into Sunday night, Reuters reported.
An Islamist commander opposing ISIS was killed, the terrorist group claimed, adding others had been killed and wounded. But no further details were immediately available.
Derna has a long history of paramilitary actions, and this even goes back to period before the fall of Gaddafi in 2011. Derna become a base for extremists and terrorists as result of promoting the Jihadi Salafi ideas over the past decades. By 2012, Derna was completely out of Tripoli government's control, and it was at the hands of some armed groups. In the absence of a central government, thousands of Takfiri members came to Libya and received military trainings in bases built in Libya, and then they were sent to Syria. These events, more than ever, paved the way for spread of extremist ideas in Libya, especially in Derna.
Apart from Drena, ISIS is actively present in Sirte and also partially is present in some other areas like Benghazi and Tripoli.
Takfiri movements found Libya the best place for their campaigns due to following reasons:
1. Libya’s 2000 km long Mediterranean coastline;
2. Mountainous and forest areas in East Libya to deploy and train forces and be immune from air strikes of the opposition forces;
3. The connection of Libyan Desert to Sahara Desert, and neighboring with six African countries;
4. Rich oil and mineral resources;
5. Libya’s experience in training the leading member of al-Qaeda, and other militant and Takfiri groups.
