The State Department’s newly released Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 says that “many members” of the Islamic State’s Libyan branch fanned out across the country after the battle for Sirte last year. Sirte had served as the group’s stronghold inside Libya.
The Islamic State’s Libyan “province” has released images from the captured town of Bin Jawad. The jihadists have likely operated in the town for months, but they only declared complete control of it earlier this week after launching a new offensive. The photos and a short video released by an Islamic State-affiliated “news” agency are intended to advertise the jihadists’ control of Bin Jawad.