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Mystery Sniper Taking Out ISIS Commanders in Libyan Stronghold
Saturday, January 30, 2016 02:02 PM
By: Sandy Fitzgerald
Three Islamic State commanders have been gunned down at long range in the jihadists'' new caliphate headquarters in the Libyan city of Sirte, leading to speculation that a single sniper who honed his skills in the Libyan uprising against its slain dictator, Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
The anti-ISIS killings are striking panic among the forces, leading to numerous arrests and executions to track down the assassin, reports The Telegraph of London.
The killer's latest victim, Abdullah Hamad Al-Ansari, a commander from the Libyan city of Obari, was shot dead as he left a mosque in the city's center on Jan. 23. He was the third jihadist taken out by sniper fire in the past 10 days.
ISIS has had control of Sirte, Gadhafi's birthplace, since last summer, and Libyan intelligence officials say there could be as many as 2,000 jihadists based in that city.
The terrorists have not only taken over the city, but have fought back against opponents through floggings and beheadings, and the mysterious sniper is said to be raising the morale of residents, who do not support the hardliners.
Locals reportedly were also thrilled when Hamad Abdel Hady, a Sudanese official placed in the ISIS Sharia court, was shot and killed by a sniper outside a hospital. Witnesses said ISIS fighters shot guns in the air while searching for the sniper in hopes of scaring the city's inhabitants.
Many believe the sniper to be a militia fighter from the city of Misrata, whose forces fought against ISIS for the control of Sirte before finally pulling out. The nearby city's commanders claim to still have informants in Sirte, even though ISIS has been crucifying all those suspected of spying.
Still others, though, suspect the sniper could be a U.S. Special Forces agent, as American intelligence is believed to be in the area.
