By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 1 October 2015:
Islamic State (IS) forces launched a lightning strike on a checkpoint at Sidra oil terminal . . .[restrict]late this afternoon. According to Ali Hassi, the official spokesman the central Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), one guard was killed and two others wounded. Another report says two guards died in the attack.
It is not known exactly where the IS gunmen came from. However, Sidra is only 50 kilometres east of IS-controlled Nufaliya, and 190 east of Sirte, now the central IS power base in Libya.
It is thought that the attack may be linked to reported plans tomorrow by IS in Sirte to force local residents to give an oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, its “caliph”.
Ibrahim Jadhran, the head of the Central PFG, is reported to have visited Sidra shortly afterwards.
The terminal has been closed since December last year when Libya Dawn forces attacked it in a bid to takeover all the eastern oil terminals. [/restrict]
