The head of the bureau of investigations in the office of the prosecutor general, Al-Siddiq Al-Sur, held a press conference today on the presence of ISIS in Libya. He confirmed that ISIS has established six camps east of #Libya and that its founder Mahmoud Al-Baradi is from #Benghazi, specifically in the area of Hawari.
He further stated that in #Sirte, before #ISIS was defeated, the terrorist group had setup operational or structural units including the judiciary and grievances, police, hesba, zakat, advocacy and services. Within their judicial branch they had a sharia court, the ombudsman’s court, the personal status Judge, the border judge and the military court. Within their finance branch they had investment, collection, and the camel project. The heads of these units are known to his office.
The investigation also confirmed that #ISIS financed itself by kidnapping businessmen and foreigners in return for large ransoms, and by gaining considerable support from #Syria and #Iraq. #ISIS also financed itself by robbing banks in #Sirte and #Benghazi.
Most #ISIS members are from Tunisian, Saudi Arabian, and Egyptian nationalities, however, there is a total of 26 nationalities that also include #Libya, #Sudan, #Senegal #Chad, #Mali, #Qatar, and #Jordan. It has also been confirmed that most of #ISIS leaders were originally affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
In respect to #ISIS presence, the investigation has identified that #ISIS has added several units in #Sabratha, #Bani_Walid, and #Zuwarah in addition to cells existing in #Misrata, #Zliten, and #Tripoli.
Al-Sur discussed targeted killings of ISIS against senior Libyan officials. The investigation reported that #ISIS assassinated Tunisian journalists, and the security directors of #Derna, #Sirte and #Sabratha. They also assassinated Coptic Egyptians; however, their burial place is still unknown. Additionally, it has been reported that Al-Qaeda leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, is responsible for the killing of the US ambassador.
Furthermore, the kidnapping of foreigners has become a staple tactic utilized by #ISIS. They kidnapped the Italians, the Serbs, the Austrians, the Ukrainians, and the Czechs in #Sabratha. As well as that, # ISIS continues to orchestrate assaults on fields, and exploit field equipment.
Al-Sur emphasized that the results of the investigations conducted are ‘only the beginning’. Currently, 238 people are held in custody in relation to terrorism charges. Of those held in custody, 75 were released. However, there are arrest warrants for more than 200 additional suspected members. Also, there are 824 known internal suspects. In addition, all personnel who are suspected to have cooperated with ISIS have been called in for questioning.
Al-Sur stressed the fact that migration offenses and smuggling are directly linked to ISIS’s activities. 780 bodies are held under the ongoing investigations; and the location of hundreds of bodies are otherwise unknown.
He added that a decision was released by the interim government demanding that they stop dealing with the interpol. Instead, there has been cooperation with state prosecutors, intelligence officers, and public investigators in gathering this information. As well as that, #Libya is coordinating with #Tunisia for the #ISIS investigations.
So far, it has been reported that many ISIS leaders have left to #Syria and #Iraq. As such, Al- Sur explained that they will try to speed up the investigation. He stated that anyone proven innocent will be released and handed over to their state; adding that they have already handed over the children of some ISIS member back to their embassies- such as in the case of #Sudan.
#ArraedLG #BuildingANation
