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Islamic State in Libya Has Retreated to the Desert
(Economist-UK) Like their comrades in Iraq and Syria, the jihadists of Islamic State (IS) in Libya were in retreat earlier this year, pushed out of Sirte, their coastal stronghold, in December and hit hard by American bombers in January. But although the jihadists are down in Libya, they are not out. And they may have international reach. Many of the fighters have regrouped in the desert valleys and hills southeast of Tripoli. Salman Abedi, the Manchester suicide-bomber, was in Libya recently and his brother and father were arrested in Tripoli. There are thought to be 500 IS fighters still operating in Libya and perhaps 3,000 jihadists of all types.