Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 - Foreign Terrorist Organizations: ISIL-Libya

aka Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Libya; Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Libya; Wilayat Barqa; Wilayat Fezzan; Wilayat Tripolitania; Wilayat Tarablus; Wilayat al-Tarabulus

Description: ISIL-Libya was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on May 20, 2016. In 2014, ISIS leader and SDGT Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi dispatched a group of ISIS operatives from Syria to Libya to establish a branch of the terrorist group. The ISIS operatives set up a base in Darnah and in late November 2014, Baghdadi formally established the ISIL-Libya branch after announcing he had accepted oaths of allegiance from fighters in the country.

Activities: ISIL-Libya poses a significant security threat in the region. Since being established in November 2014, the group has carried out multiple attacks in the country and has threatened to expand ISIS's presence into other countries in Africa. In October 2014, several hundred ISIL-Libya fighters established a presence in the eastern Libya city of Darnah. In January 2015, ISIL-Libya claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a luxury hotel in Tripoli that killed eight people, including a U.S. contractor. That same month, ISIL-Libya also killed 16 people in an attack on a Libyan army checkpoint.

In February 2015, ISIL-Libya released a propaganda video showing the murder of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians who had been kidnapped in Sirte, Libya, in two separate incidents in December 2014 and January 2015. Also in February, ISIL-Libya claimed responsibility for bomb attacks against a petrol station, a police station, and the home of parliamentary speaker Agila Salah in the town of al-Qubbah. The attacks killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens of others.

ISIL-Libya claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing targeting an army checkpoint in Benghazi in March 2015, which killed five soldiers and two civilians, and it attacked a Tripoli prison in an attempt to free detainees in September 2015, killing three security personnel.

Between 2015 and 2016, ISIL-Libya doubled its presence in the country; in early 2016, reports suggested the group counted as many as 6,000 fighters in its ranks. In 2016, ISIL-Libya expanded operations into Libya's oil crescent, launching attacks on some of the country's largest oil installations; ISIL-Libya burned oil tanks, killing dozens and forcing oil fields to shut down operations. The group also conducted attacks on Libya's medical facilities. In March, the group attacked a Sirte hospital and kidnapped 20 medical workers. The group also attacked medical facilities and carried out other attacks in Benghazi and Tripoli. In November, the group was responsible for a car bomb that exploded in Benghazi, killing three.

In December 2016, Libyan forces drove ISIL-Libya from its stronghold and main base in Sirte into the desert areas and neighboring cities.

Strength: In early 2016, ISIL-Libya was reported to have 6,000 members.

Location/Area of Operation: At the end of 2016, ISIL-Libya was no longer in control of any towns in Libya, but its members continued to operate throughout the eastern, southern, and western regions of the country. The group has also carried out attacks in Tripoli and Benghazi.

Funding and External Aid: ISIL-Libya's funding comes from a variety of sources, including criminal activity, such as smuggling and extortion, and external funding. The group also receives support from ISIS.