Heavy fighting in Libya between ISIS and government forces. Reuters.

Fighters on their way to fight ISIS. Reuters.

Heavy fighting in Sirte, Libya between ISIS and the forces of the alternate Libyan government. Reuters. Families fled the site of the battle as ISIS fighters and Libya Dawn forces fight for control of the city. Reports of western aid workers and medical staff have not been confirmed. Sirte has long been a battlefield between the two governments of Libya. Both Libya Dawn and the internationally recognized government of Libya have forces in the area and are fighting over nearby oil ports. The chaos has allowed ISIS to thrive. ISIS fighters have taken over many government buildings. ISIS has been fairly active as of late killing 21 Christians and attacking a hotel. 

My Comment:

The toehold in Libya for ISIS is greatly expanding. That is of course bad news. ISIS is taking advantage of the utter chaos that is Libya right now. This is exactly what they did in Syria and Iraq. Both sides of the Libya conflict need to put aside their differences and fight ISIS. ISIS is a much bigger threat to them then they are to each other. But given the amount of bad blood between the two groups I don't see them working together. 

I also don't see any foreign government taking on ISIS either. Even though Libya is fairly close to Europe itself, nobody in the region is willing commit forces. Of course the western governments are largely responsible for the situation in Libya. When they got rid of Qaddafi they didn't do anything to ensure that his replacement would create a stable government. When the government collapsed into fighting factions, nobody wanted to take responsibility for the chaos that erupted. ISIS thrives on chaos so it is not surprising that they showed up in Libya like they did in Syria, Iraq and even Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.  

I'm hoping that the rumors that ISIS has captured western medical personnel are false. If it is true, given ISIS's treatment of westerners in the past, I would not hold out much hope of them being released safely. It begs the question, what are those aid workers still doing near the front lines of Libya? I understand that people in a war zone need the most help, but with ISIS fighters running around isn't it too much of a risk? My guess is the people that go to help people don't care about the risk. That is admirable but it does indirectly help ISIS. After all, making horrifying propaganda is a lot harder if they don't have anyone to execute other then the locals.