IS suicide attack failed near Libya’s Sirte

BY Libyan Express Jan 11, 2018 - 14:38 Updated: Jan 11, 2018 - 21:40

Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government fire weapons during a battle with Islamic State fighters in Sirte. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

Security forces at Abu Grein checkpoint near Sirte failed an IS suicide attack as they arrested a man with a car filled with an explosive material ready for detonation.

According to local media, the man was apprehended Thursday before he arrived at the checkpoint and upon investigation he said he was not part of IS but they used him and his car for the suicide mission.

The security department tasked with protection of the Abu Grein checkpoint reported Wednesday that people informed it of irregular IS presence on the roads leading to the checkpoint.

IS is still trying to regroup in Libya after the defeat in its stronghold in Sirte last year by a coalition of forces under Al-Buntan Al-Marsous operation.

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