Terrorism

Libya; British and Italian Marines hit by ISIS suicide bombers – US media yawns

British Royal Marines. Photo: Youtube screen capture.
British Royal Marines. Photo: Youtube screen capture.

While various government ministries in London and Rome are remaining tight-lipped, word is bubbling to the surface that the ISIS terrorists have attacked a convoy of British, Italian, and Libyan troops. And while various news services are quickly reporting on the situation, the joint Italian-British military intervention in the ISIS-thick North African nation is widely being ignored by the American press.

As reported by William Watkinson of the United Kingdom edition of the International Business Times, and also by Ian Gallagher of the London-based The Daily Mail, both on May 1, 2016, a convoy consisting of an undisclosed number of troops were ambushed in a highly coordinated ISIS ambush attack. A multi-national force of Britain’s Special Boat Service personnel (usually top shelf British Royal Marines), Italian Marines from the elite San Marco Brigade, and local soldiers loyal to the recently recognized Libyan Government of National Accord were travelling from the northwestern Libyan city of Misrata towards the Islamic jihadist stronghold of Sirte when hit.

According to reports, the initial attack was initiated by ISIS vehicles that were described as “packed with explosives” when they inexplicably were allowed to drive directly “alongside the convoy transporting the Italian and British troops” prior to setting off an undeniably sizable amount of explosives. Yet to be verified, it’s standard operating procedure for the Islamic jihadists of ISIS to pack their IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) with nails, screws, and ball bearings to maximize the carnage.

Directly after the suicide bombs were detonated, in what von Clausewitz described as the “fog of war” when the shock, bloodshed, and violence casts a pall in the minds and actions of the effected troops, the ISIS militants carried on the attack with an unexpected degree of training and discipline. Before the smoke was even close to clearing, “Other ISIS fighters shelled the convoy with mortars and strafed it with heavy machine gun fire.”

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As reported, the entire allied force faced annihilation, escaping such only after “Italian and French warplanes and attack helicopters intervened.” While no British casualties were mentioned, there are spotty reports that the Italian Marines have suffered some of their own “killed or wounded.”

For their part, the British Ministry of Defence has released to the public: “The MoD neither confirms nor denies claims about Special Forces activity.” Yet in a related story, the staunchly pro-Western monarch of Jordan has not only verified British Special Forces are presently on the ground in Libya, King Adbullah has also publicly stated his own first rate Special Forces “will be imbedded [sic] with British SAS” in Libya.

When Jordan’s Special Forces join their British brethren in Libya, it won’t exactly be their first time under fire. The Jordanian SF has already operated in Somalia with the British Army’s SAS against the ISIS-allied al-Shabab terrorists. Not only in the Horn of Africa have the Jordanians been busy. Their special operators have very quietly been involved in the fight against Islamic jihadists in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

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