\
Iraqi forces advance through the Old City of Mosul on June 25, 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district held by the Islamic State (IS) group. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
TRIPOLI, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Following IS loss of a large number of leaders and individuals in the decline of its forces, the possibility of movements in Libya began to surface again, said a senior Libyan official Wednesday.
Libya is still suffering political division, which showed no signs of improving, with the growing influence of human and weapons smuggling networks, said Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, a member of the Media Center for the unity government's forces.
The country remains an important target for IS, especially since the implementation of political agreement has been delayed.
The Libyan parties still refuse to amend the agreement and end the stalemate, of which affect is increasing day after day, he told Xinhua.
Therefore, the conditions are still favorable to the organization to move again, despite the losses it suffered in the east and west of the country, he added.
The Libyan army led by Major General Khalifa Hafer managed to take control of the east and south of the country, with the exception of some enclaves.
The army expelled terrorist groups, particularly IS and Ansar Al-Sharia and their allied militias.
In December 2016, forces UN-backed unity government managed to liberate the city of Sirte, 450 kilometers east of Tripoli, from IS's grip.
Speaking about Sirte, Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi, a member of the Media Center for the unity government's forces, offers possible explanations for the possibility of IS's movement.
"However, that does not mean that the organization is not trying to move again, especially as the remnants are still moving on the outskirts of Sirte, as revealed by an IS member who were arrested recently," he said.
"When an IS member was arrested, his group stole fuel tankers heading from Misrata to Jafra in the past few days. He admitted that the organization was still moving in groups in areas stretching from Sirte to Jafra and even Bani Walid, al-Baghdadi told Xinhua.
As for theories related to the recent attacks in Europe by IS in Libya, a high-level security source in the Interior Ministry of the UN-backed government confirmed that there is a link between IS European cells and IS Libyan cells.
"The attacks on Britain and European cities recently have links between their perpetrators and a number of militant leaders in Libya," the source, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, told Xinhua.
"It is expected that there will be financial and logistical support, including advice, on the manufacture of homemade bombs and explosives to avoid the transboundary movement of any material," the source added.
"There are intensive investigations carried out by the Special Deterrent Force in Libya with a number of arrested suspects, including the brother of the Manchester attack. The investigations showed intention of the organization to carry out attacks inside Libya and in Western and Arab capitals.
This reflects the relationship between IS in Libya and other branches in foreign countries."
The British city of Manchester suffered a bloody attack last month when the 23-year-old Libyan suicide bomber and IS member named Suleiman al-Obeidi targeted a concert, killing 25 people and injuring more than 100.
