At least ten fighters aligned with the Government of National Accord (GNA) were killed in clashes with Libyan National Army (LNA) forces in the Ain Zara axis, south of Tripoli.
‘Al-Shahid’ news agency reported, four of the fighters belonged to the ‘Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council’ (BRSC), and the remaining six belonged to the ‘Mujahideen Shura Council of Derna’.
This BRSC appeared in 2014, and is a coalition of extremist militia groups from the city of Benghazi that includes members of ‘Ansar Al-Sharia’, which was designated by the United States as a terrorist organization. The BRSC is believed to have allied itself with the Islamic State in an attempt to counter LNA forces in Benghazi.
The Mujahideen Council of Derna was also formed in 2014, and it is an alliance of the various extremist groups that controlled the city at the time. Among its most prominent formations is the ‘Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade’ led by Salem Derby.
After the LNA succeeded in expelling these two groups from Benghazi and Derna, they attempted to reorganize their ranks and formed what was known as the ‘Defense Brigades of Benghazi’ after which they began launching attacks on the Oil Crescent region.