Libya Dawn awakening to IS threat

A video of an Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) member captured by a Libya Dawn militia has served to highlight the growing recognition by Dawn of the threat IS poses.

The dissemination of the video, believed to have been filmed in Misrata, and showing a man claiming responsibility for bombings carried out in various parts of Libya, comes as reports indicate that IS took control of the city of Sirte on Tuesday, as well as clashing with Islamist brigades in Derna, killing several people.

Libya is in the midst of a civil war between two rival governments, one backed by Libya Dawn and another backed by the forces of General Khalifa Haftar.

Representatives of the two governments met in Berlin on Wednesday to try and reach an agreement, as IS continues to take advantage of the power vacuum in the country.

In the video itself, which was shared across Libyan social networking sites, a dishevelled man describing himself as working with IS' media arm, but then admitting involvement in bombings, is questioned by his captors through a small window into his tiny cell.

The man, who says he is from Bani Walid, admits responsibility for two bombings, and justifies attacks on Misratans, where many of Libya Dawn's strongest fighting units are from, by saying that Misratans “curse religion day and night”.

IS has become increasingly hostile to other groups in Libya, with the killing of three commanders of an Islamist brigade in Derna on Tuesday night.

Naser al-Akr, Salem Darbi and Salem al-Houthi, commanders of the Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna, were killed by IS in the town.

The Shura Council declared a jihad against IS following the killings.