Suicide bombing kills three
A suicide bomber drives a vehicle filled with explosives into a unit of Libyan soldiers in central Benghazi. Three are killed and 11 are wounded, some critically. The bomber targeted a unit of soldiers engaged in a street battle near the city’s port and naval base. This is an area where pro-government forces and bands of militarized Islamists frequently clash. Military source:
Suicide bombings have become frequent in the eastern port city, where forces loyal to the country’s internationally recognized government have been clashing with Islamist fighters, part of chaos gripping the oil producer.
More beach beheadings
A 29-minute video showing the killing of two groups Ethiopian Christians captives by Islamic State-affiliated militants in Libya is released. A masked fighter wielding a pistol says Christians must convert to Islam or pay a special tax prescribed by the Quran, before the captives in the south are shown being shot dead and the captives in the east are beheaded on a beach.
Militants attack Libyan oilfield
Islamic State affiliate militants behead eight Libyan guards and kidnap nine foreigners in an attack on al-Ghani oil field. Libya’s military spokesman, Ahmed al-Mesmari on Islamic State militants’ goal to take over Libya’s petroleum industry:
This is the lifeline of the Libyan people. The consequences of such a loss would be dire.