The Battle of Sirte refers to the battle in the spring of 2015, in the region of Sirte,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

, between the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

(ISIL) and the

Libya Shield Force The Libya Shield Force is an armed organisation formed in 2012 out of anti-Gaddafi armed groups spread throughout Libya. The Libyan parliament designated much of the Libya Shield Force as terrorist and elements of the Libya Shield Force were ide ...

. ISIL forces had been present in the city since February 2015, before the Fall of Nofaliya. After Nofaliya fell to ISIL forces, the Tripoli-based government had decided to send reinforcements to recapture Sirte.

The battle

The fighting began 14 March 2015, between forces of the

and the forces of the

. No death toll was initially given, but the fighting was described as being violent, and stopped at dusk. Among those killed was Ahmed al-Rouissi, a

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n ISIL commander. On 18 March, 12 Tripoli government soldiers were killed during fighting against Islamic State fighters; 10 in Nofaliya and 2 in

Bin Jawad Bin Jawad ( ar, بن جواد '), also known as ''Bin Jawwād'', ''Bin Quwad'' is a town with estimated 8,488 inhabitants in the Sirte District in Libya. It is approximately halfway between Benghazi and Misrata. The nearest settlements are Nofa ...

. On 25 March, ISIL attacked a Brigade 166 checkpoint, 15 kilometers west of Sirte, killing five militiamen. Over the next two months, sporadic fighting took place around Sirte. On 20 May, ISIL forces again attacked a Brigade 166 position. According to a Libya Dawn official, 23 ISIL fighters and one soldier were killed. On 28 May ISIL captured the nearly-ruined Ghardabiya Airbase and the Great Man-Made River water project outside of Sirte when Libyan Shield Forces withdrew. Over the next few days, Libya Shield Forces withdrew to positions 12 miles west of Sirte, after ISIL advanced to the east, south, and west of the city.

Aftermath

During August and September, new clashes erupted in Sirte between pro-Gaddafi loyalists and ISIL forces. On 23 September, ISIL once again asserted its control over the whole of Sirte after it expelled all the remaining pro-Gaddafi elements. In February 2016, U.S. officials believed that there were 5,000 to 6,000 ISIL fighters in Libya,Andrew Tilghman
Size of ISIS force declining in Iraq and Syria, according to new intel
''Military Times'' (February 4, 2016), and gave a maximum estimate of up to 6,500.Declan Walsh, Ben Hubbard & Eric Schmitt

''New York Times'' (February 19, 2016). This marked an increase from previous estimates in the 2,000 to 3,000 range. Many of ISIL's new recruits came from Iraq, Syria and Tunisia. At this point, ISIL's strength was increasing in Libya while simultaneously declining in Iraq and Syria. In May 2016, the

Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord ( ar, حكومة الوفاق الوطني) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. ...

started a new battle to retake Sirte.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Sirte 2015 Sirte 2015 Sirte 2015 Sirte

The battle

Aftermath

See also

References