News of Al Baghdadi’s Arrival to Libyan Sirte

Information which is widely spread in Sirte, Libya, speak about the arrival, of the ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, last Thursday to Sirte surprisingly, as no statement was issued by the organization or its supporters through social networks, but talk is widely promoted in local communities in Sirte, after they noticed its coincidence with news of tightening control and intensifying check points by the “masked” men.

Some sources think that ISIS leader, who was the talk of last week’s news, was in Turkey to escape the intensive Russian and French air strikes on strongholds of the organization in Syria and Iraq, and he may resort to Sirte, where the organization has a complete controlled the “Ouagadougou” Hall that is largely fortified, and cannot be affected with the air bombardment because it has an underground that can hold nine trucks.

The news also come amid significant movements of ISIS elements in Sirte, Libya, through the completion of roadblocks and sand trenches, and the graduation of a new batch of fighters in the army that is called “Islam Cubs” which contains  elements, which are mostly 14 and 18 boys.

Colonel Mohamed Hidjazi, a spokesman for the Libyan Armed Forces, which is led by the Maj. Gen. Khalifa Belkacem Haftar, who is backed by the government and parliament of Tobruk in Libya, told Echorouk; “Groups of ISIS leaders reached Sirte these days, but I can assure or deny the arrival of the leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”

“ISIS organization is now preparing to take control of oil fields. It received significant support from the fighters via Turkey, Sudan and Tunisia.”

“SISI trains its elements on controlling civil aircrafts with special devices, as the city has an airport and a military air base. This training aims to anticipate the abductions that are targeting the planes in European or neighboring countries for swapping on releasing its elements, or to carry out suicide attacks that use planes.”

Asked about the red lines of the Libyan army of not bombarding areas which are a center for the return of the fighters like the Matiqiah airport and Misurata port, Hidjazi said that the army has no red lines and receives direct orders only from the Maj. Gen. Haftar.

“Algerian elements are active with the organization in areas of the south of Libya, including large leaders, and they train elements of the Malian Touareg, Nigerians and Libyans, and one of the camps for Tawaruq includes 200 fighters in the south of Libya, specifically in the city of Houne, which includes a military base that belonged to the Libyan Army in the era of the former Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.”