New ground Isil building north African base

With Islamic State fighters facing defeat in Iraq and Syria, the group appears to be pursuing a strategy of bolstering its base in Libya.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) grew out of the power vacuum left by the toppling of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Isil announced their presence in Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte in early 2015, driving a parade of vehicles through the city and declaring it part of their caliphate.

However in December, after a seven-month battle, Isil was cleared from Sirte by Libyan Forces, with assistance from air strikes by the US.

The jihadist group withdrew to desert areas south of the city.

Libya has been an important base for Isil in launching attacks into Tunisia and, to a lesser extent, Egypt.

The operatives who attacked tourists in the Tunisian resort town of Sousse last year, killing more than 30 British tourists, are thought to have been trained in Libya.

Isil now has access to a broad swathe of the Mediterranean coast, enabling it to exploit migrant traffic crossing to Europe.

The absence of any recognisable Libyan intelligence forces means the West has little idea where the defeated fighters may have fled, either within Libya or over its largely unguarded borders. Josie Ensor