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By Adam Ali.
Benghazi, 1 August 2015:
In the wake of yesterday’s devastating attack on an army checkpoint on the Ajdabiya-Tobruk desert road, . . .[restrict]heavy fighting has broken out in Ajdabiya itself, after a further two soldiers were shot dead there.
The 21st Border Guard Battalion, seven of whose men were killed and 18 went missing in the checkpoint assault, today moved against Daesh positions in an industrial area in the town at the end of Istanbul Street. In the course of the battle an RPG, said to have been fired by Daesh, hit a tyre store and set it on fire. A family living above the premises had to be rescued from the blaze.
The air force also launched at least one airstrike on the Daesh position. The army assault was reportedly led by Colonel Gamal Zwai, who three weeks ago survived an assassination attempt as he left his office.
In the wake of the June US air attack on a farm outside Ajdabiya, which was targeting the terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar, Daesh and Ansar Al-Sharia fighters were rounded up or driven out of the town.
A local source has explained to the Libya Herald that tribal elders had negotiated the release of many of the men, who then reformed and set up a base in the industrial district.
The good news for the 21st Battalion today was that one of the 18 missing soldiers, named as Ramadan Bsarah, managed to escape the checkpoint attack and has been found safe and well. He was taken to Tobruk. [/restrict]
