An attack against an ISIS hideout south of the Libyan city of Sabratha by the city’s local militia appears to have been ill-advised, as ISIS responded by attacking the city itself, forcing its way into the city’s center, killing 17 of the troops and beheading at least 11 of them.
Sabratha appears to have reached a deal with the nearby city of Zintan to ally against ISIS, though the cities’ respective militias are allied to separate parliaments, with Zintan backing the Tobruk parliament and Sabratha behind the Tripoli one.
Though ISIS entered the city’s center and held it overnight, they were eventually forced back out by local forces. The indication are they went back to their “hideout,” though the local officials probably aren’t going to push another offensive just yet.
Sabratha is extremely close to where US attacked another ISIS “camp” last week, which killed at least 49 people, including a pair of Serbian hostages. The US had expressed hope the strike killed a Tunisian ISIS leader, but that has yet to be confirmed.