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By Libya Herald reporters.
Tripoli, 29 June 2015:
In what appears to have been a highly accurate nightstrike, the Libyan Air Force claims . . .[restrict]to have destroyed a vessel bringing ammunition to Ansar Al-Sharia fighters in Benghazi.
In the early hours of this morning, an unidentified boat is reported to have been approaching the small harbour at Mreisa on the southern edge of Benghazi, which is still in Ansar hands.
It is not clear how many aircraft attacked it nor with what weapons.
A video posted on social media purports to show the results of the strike. It seems to have been filmed by a soldier who was so excited he failed to keep the camera in the least bit still. Initially the extremely unsteady pictures showed a fast-spreading fire that could have been anywhere. There were clear firework-like detonations coming from the centre of the blaze. However, the massive explosion that followed seconds later lit up a flat horizon that was almost certainly the sea.
There has been no response from Ansar nor is there any clear indication of where the vessel picked up its cargo. Army sources are claiming it was Misrata.
The timing of the attack in darkness as the boat was nearing its presumed Mreisa destination, suggests that this was an intelligence-led operation. That it was not hit further back in its voyage may be because military commanders wished to damage the morale of Ansar fighters whom the army has finally winkled out of most of Mreisa save the area around the small harbour.
The airstrike so close to land may also have been designed to boost the spirits of watching troops. Certainly in the case of the soldier who filmed the attack, this seems to have worked. [/restrict]
