The Shoura Council of Islamic Youth, a Derna-based Islamist group, declared its support for the Islamic State and its allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi as caliph. In fighting over the past two days, 14 soldiers from Operation Dignity were killed and over 50 wounded trying to repel the advance of Ansar al Sharia on Benina Airbase in Benghazi. A senior foreign ministry officer was assassinated in Benghazi; not one person has been arrested for any of the over 100 murders that have been carried out in Benghazi over the past year or more. Benghazi’s Jalal Hospital closed after clashes between Ansar al Sharia and local residents trying to evict the group. A British teacher kidnapped in Benghazi and held hostage for four months by the “Army of Islam” was released.
