Isil leadership living in fear of lethal sniper at large in Sirte

AFTER a string of assassinations of its local henchmen, the new Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant “caliphate” in the Libyan city of Sirte is abuzz with talk that an anti-Isil sniper is at work.

In recent weeks, no fewer than three Isil commanders in the city have been shot dead from long range, according to local media.

The killings – reported to be the work of a sniper who honed his skills in Libya’s uprising against Col Muammar Gaddafi – are said to have sown panic among Isil jihadists in the city, who have responded with a string of arrests and executions.

The Sirte assassin’s most recent victim, according to social media reports from the city, was Abdullah Hamad AlAnsari, an Isil commander from the southern Libyan city of Obari, who was shot dead on Jan 23 as he left a mosque.

The birthplace of the late Col Gaddafi, Sirte has been under Isil control since last summer. Libyan intelligence officials estimate that there may now be up to 2,000 jihadists based there.

Tales of the mystery marksman are believed to have found a ready audience among the city’s population, few of whom actively support the city’s new hardline rulers.

However, in a city where little reliable information is currently available, there is a more mundane possibility – namely that reports of the sniper and his exploits may be simply the product of wishful thinking among Sirte’s unhappy residents.