ConflictBarometer_2016

MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB
tle with IS. For instance, on June 21, IS killed 36 BM troops
and wounded 150. IS militants employed IEDs and landmines
and targeted BM forces with sniper fire and suicide car bombs,
killing about 20 and wounding more than a hundred, on July
15. On July 21, BM attacked IS positions using tanks and
artillery and carried out 16 airstrikes against an estimated
several hundred militants besieged in parts of the city. BM
stated to have killed almost 50 IS members in fights that also
left about 30 BM members dead and approx. 200 wounded.
Between late April and July 35,000 people fled the town.
The US launched ''Operation Odyssey Lightning” on August
1, providing BM with air support. On the first day of the operation,
they struck two IS tanks. By December 5, jets, drones,
and helicopters, according to the US, targeted IS' fighting positions
over 1,000 times and hit 40 car bombs, eight vehicles
mounted with recoilless rifles and heavy artillery, as well as
three rocket launchers.
BM's continuing advance using warplanes, tanks, anti-aircraft
guns, and RPGs was countered by IS employing car bombs,
planting explosives, and sniper fire and resulted in high death
tolls on both sides. For example, on August 28, IS killed
at least 35 and wounded around 200 BM personnel using
twelve car bombs. BM claimed to have killed at least 80 IS
militants on October 2.
On December 5, BM forces seized full control over Sirte and
on December 17, GNA's Prime Minister-designate Fayez al-
Serraj declared the end of the Sirte operation. In total, more
than 700 BM combatants were killed and more than 3,200
wounded during the campaign.
Until May, IS repeatedly conducted assaults on oil facilities,
clashing with the central Libya branch of Petroleum Facilities
Guard forces (PFG-Central). For instance, on January 4,
after having fully taken control of the town of Ben Jawad,
IS attacked nearby al-Sidr and Ras Lanuf oil ports with car
bombers, engaged in fighting, and set an oil storage tank on
fire with a rocket. Two days of confrontations left at least nine
PFG-Central personnel and 30 IS militants dead, according to
PFG-Central. The guards stated that they were supported
by aircraft from forces affiliated with the General National
Congress (GNC).
While BM forces attacked IS in Sirte from the west, PFG-
Central now allied with the UN-backed BM, took over Ben
Jawad and neighboring Nawfiliyah from IS on May 30 and
May 31. The latter had been controlled by IS since February
2015.
In Derna, eponymous district, fights between IS and DMSC,
most prominently including the Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade,
concentrated in Neighborhood 400 and al-Fata'ih area between
January and April. For example, on January 20, IS attempted
to retake Derna using anti-aircraft guns and RPGs
but was repelled by DMSC supported by armed locals. On
February 18, DMSC reportedly killed five IS militants, while
an IS assault caused the death of six DMSC fighters on February
22. DMSC repelled the attack, allegedly killing a local IS
leader, and destroying three tanks and an armored vehicle.
The same day, an IED planted by IS killed Tamim Klafah, Ansar
al-Sharia (AAS) member and brother of the group's leader.
AAS in Derna was also part of DMSC. On April 17, confrontations
that included the shelling of IS positions with artillery
and tanks by DMSC reportedly caused the death of dozens of
IS members.
Three days later, IS retreated from the last positions in and
around Derna. While DMSC stated to have attacked the group
the same day, LNA claimed the retreat came due to its blockade
and shelling of the city [→ Libya (opposition)].
Following IS' pullout, more than 30 people were killed by IS
mines and booby traps. Moreover, LNA claimed to have killed
a high number of retreating IS militants during a strike on a
convoy of about 30 vehicles near al-Mekhili town, south of
Derna. In al-Wahat district, an IS convoy of approx. 70 vehicles
clashed with PFG-Central supported by a local brigade
and armed locals around 50 km south of Brega, on April 23.
While IS claimed to have killed one PFG-Central guard and
wounded several, PFG-Central allegedly killed a number of IS
militants and seized six vehicles. The same day, LNA stated
their forces intercepted an IS convoy of 45 vehicles in the
area, killing IS fighters and destroying 15 vehicles.
Throughout the year, IS clashed with the House of Representatives'
(HoR) LNA and affiliated forces in Benghazi. LNA gradually
advanced and closed in on the Islamist forces remaining
in a few areas. The group frequently conducted airstrikes and
used tanks and heavy artillery.
For instance, on April 15, IS targeted LNA with three car
bombs, killing four troops and wounding about ten, near a
cement factory in the city's Hawari district. Two days later,
the site was taken by LNA, which subsequently advanced into
the neighboring Gwarsha area. IS claimed to have attacked
a LNA convoy there using IEDs before engaging in fighting,
killing five soldiers in total on May 25. An IS car bombing left
seven LNA personnel dead on December 18.
With both Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (BRSC),
a major militia involved in the opposition conflict, and IS
present in Benghazi, it often remained unclear whether IS or
BRSC or both engaged in combat action. (sul)
SAUDI-ARABIA
In Saudi-Arabia, the IS conducted several bombings, targeting
religious and public buildings. On January 2, Saudi-Arabia executed
47 prisoners on terrorism charges. In reaction, the IS
threatened to attack prisons holding IS-members. On January
29, two suicide bombers targeted the Imam-Rida-Mosque in
the city of Hofuf, Eastern Province, killing four and injuring
18 civilians. On February 8, a bomb attached to a car exploded
in the capital Riad in the eponymous region. No one
was injured. During a police raid outside the city of Mecca,
on May 6, two IS-members were shot dead while another two
IS suicide bombers blew themselves up. On July 4, suicide
bombers targeted the US-consulate in the city of Jeddah, Hijaz
Tihamah region, injuring two security guards. The same
day, suicide bombers targeted a mosque in al-Qatif, Eastern
Province, and the al-Masijd-an-Nabawi-Mosque in Medina.
The second attack killed four security guards and wounded
five more. On October 30, security forces arrested eight ISmembers
who reportedly planned an attack on a Football
World Cup Qualification game in Jeddah and another attack
on security officials in Riyadh. (son)
TUNISIA
In Tunisia, IS fighters carried out several attacks throughout
the year, while Tunisian forces conducted numerous raids. In
addition, the government, with international support, continued
to secure its border to Libya, to prevent IS fighters from
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