It was not long ago that Islamic State (IS) officially announced its presence in Libya and published photographs and videos of its assaults on the Libyan army and people whom it accuses of being “apostates.” The following is a rundown of IS reporting on its Libyan operations: 15 February 2015: IS releases a videotape through the Al-Hayat Media Centre showing the execution of 21 Egyptians abducted in Sirte in late December 2014 and early January 2015. 9 February 2015: IS members in Libya hold a gathering on the outskirts of Al-Nufaliya southwest of Sirte. In this gathering, dubbed the “first rally of the Islamic State,” members declare their allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. IS figures Al-Qarqay and Abu Dajana also call on the inhabitants of Al-Nufaliya to repent their sins and join the “caliphate.” 4 February 2015: IS wages an attack on the Al-Mabrouk oil field in central Libya and kills 13 workers including foreigners. 27 January 2015: IS claims responsibility for the attack on the Hotel Corinthia in Tripoli, which leaves 12 dead including foreigners. 12 January 2015: IS claims the abduction of 21 Egyptian Copts in Sirte and says they were captured in various areas of the province of Tripoli or “Welayet Tarablus.” 8 January 2015: IS announces the execution of abducted Tunisian journalists Sofien Chourabi and Nadhir Ktari who were captured in September 2014. 5 January 2015: IS executes a Libyan citizen captured on the Mokheili Road about 270 km east of Benghazi. The media office in “Welayet Barqa” announces the execution of Saleh Fathallah Mansour Idris, who worked for the Tobruk military zone. 2 January 2015: IS claims responsibility for an attack on an army post in southwest Libya in which 16 army servicemen are killed. The outfit calls it the “raid of Abu Othman Al-Ansar” and posts pictures of the army vehicles it seized in the operation. 29 December 2014: The media office of “Welayet Barqa” publishes photographs of the beheading of a Libyan banker in Benghazi. It claims that the victim, Abdel-Salam Al-Barghathi, was an “apostate.” 25 December 2014: The media office of the “Welayet Barqa” releases a video account of the torching of the houses of “apostates” in the Al-Laythi district in Benghazi through the Al-Manbar Website. The report indicates that 20 “apostates” died in the fire and shows images of charred bodies. In an accompanying report, it also publicises the activities of its morality police, or hesba, which begin operating patrols in the cities of Benghazi, Derna, Tripoli and Sirte.
