Libyan authorities have arrested an Islamic State leader suspected of having planned three deadly attacks in Libya’s capital in 2018, the UN-backed government announced on Thursday.
The head of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh, said the arrest was made during a joint operation carried out by the state-backed Deterrence Apparatus for Combating Organized Crime and Terrorism and the Rahbat Aldrou faction in the town of Tajoura, east of Tripoli.
In a televised speech, Dbeibeh stressed his government’s commitment to the fight against terrorism and to prosecute anyone involved in acts of terror.
The arrest was confirmed by the Deterrence Apparatus for Combating Organized Crime and Terrorism. In a statement on Facebook, the group said the arrest was the product of five years of cooperation with the Rahbat Aldrou faction.
