Libyan Army troops and militia forces under retired Major General Khalifa Haftar moved to retake Benghazi for the first time in two months. A special forces brigade and a tank brigade are meeting resistance from Islamist forces in the western portion of the city. The Libya Herald reported that Mohammed Al-Zahawi, leader of Ansar al-Sharia, “almost certainly” died last Thursday from wounds received in an earlier airstrike, though Ansar al Sharia has made no confirmation. A US State Department spokesperson urged Libyans to rein in militias and engage in political dialogue, stating “there’s no military solution to Libya’s problems.”
