General Rodriguez: The Number of ISIS Members in Libya Has Doubled in One Year

The commander of the U.S. Africa Command states that the number of individuals belonging to the group known as 'Islamic State' in Libya has doubled over the past year, now reaching between 4,000 to 6,000. This statement comes amid concerns regarding the group's increasing power in the crisis-ridden country of Libya, even as reports indicate a weakening of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. According to the Hill website on April 8, General David Rodriguez explained to the U.S. Department of Defense that these individuals have traveled to Libya from North Africa, Iraq, and Syria. Rodriguez noted that they intend to carry out attacks against targets in the West and represent 'the same threat posed by the original ISIS.' At the end of the previous solar year, a group of United Nations experts stated that the influence and power of the so-called Islamic State in Libya is significantly on the rise. Experts have warned that this Islamist group is recruiting from tribes and former military officers from the era of Muammar Gaddafi, the former dictator of Libya. International efforts to stabilize this crisis-ridden North African country have recently gained new momentum. Since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been in chaos and turmoil. In December, with the support of the United Nations, a 'national unity' government was formed. The head of this government successfully entered Tripoli, the capital of Libya, on April 1. The Islamist group that had controlled the capital announced on Tuesday that it would relinquish power. The German news agency reports that possibilities of an international military operation against the Islamic State in this country have been raised. The United States bombed a militia camp last February, and General Rodriguez does not rule out future attacks.