NEAR BREGA, LIBYA – It is somewhat ironic that a nation long known as a sponsor of terrorism is now a victim of it.
How well do you remember former Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddhafi? Before his brutal death at the hands of angry Libyans back in late 2011 he was both feared and ridiculed. He was weird to say the least – did you ever read his ‘Green Book’? – but he was also behind a lot of terrorist groups around the world. It was not for nothing that the Reagan Administration tried to take him out in 1986 following the bombing of a discotheque in West Berlin in which two US servicemen were killed.
The list of terrorist organisations that benefitted from Qaddhafian largesse is indeed a long one: among the patrons were the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Basque separatists in Spain. Several high profile and lethal attacks also enjoyed Libyan involvement, most notably the 1988 Lockerbie bombing in which 259 people were killed.
In the wake of his demise Libya has spiraled into violence as competing groups seek to gain power. Included in this struggle for dominance are terrorist acts.
On this day in 2016
The local Islamic State (ISIS) affiliate attacked a Libyan force guarding oil ports near the Brega terminal, killing one guard and wounding four. Guards had spotted a convoy of about 100 vehicles leading to the violent engagement: a number of ISIS terrorists were also killed and six vehicles seized.
The four wounded included the commander of PFG (Petroleum Facilities Guard), Ibrahim Jathran.
PFG source
It is sad that Libya went from a terrorist-loving dictator to a nation beset by terrorism. I guess the old adage applies here: “What goes around comes around.”
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