WASHINGTON 10 Aug (ANA) - The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) remains a "persistent threat" in Libya and could rise again unless the country's long-running conflict is brought to an end, a new study has warned.

 

The study, conducted by the Strategic Studies Institute at the United States Army War College, says ISIL is "regrouping, quietly expanding capacity ... until [it] might once again be strong enough to be a challenger in Libya".

 

It said the armed group retained its capacity to launch "small-scale" attacks in Libya, which was a deviation from its earlier strategy of high-profile "shock and awe" raids.

 

"They engage in small-scale attacks and skirmishes necessary to establish themselves in the criminal smuggling network that link sub-Saharan Africa to the Libyan coast in the north," according to the study conducted by Azeem Ibrahim.(ANA)

FA/ANA/10 August 2020------