"Libyan airstrikes" situation update 21 July - 10 August 2016

This period was caracterized by the 'official' engagement of US aircrafts in the battle of Sirte on 1st August and the death of commander of Misrata Air Force, Brigadier General Mukhtar Fakroun and Colonel Omar Dogha, in the crash of their L-39 near university of Sirte and claimed shot down by IS on 10 August.

LNA Air Force operations

On 28 July, reconnaissance and combat operations were carried out by MiG-21bis serial '614' and MiG-23ML serial '26453'. On 1st August, air operations were performed in the city of Derna on an ammunitions store and a car bomb processing headquarters near Khadija district. On 2nd, aircarfts from Al Abraq air base intensified air strikes on terrorist sites in the city of Derna; they targeted ammunitions in the western entrance to the city. On 4, MiG-21s and MiG-23s destroyed a technical and cars gathered near the Acyl resort. The day after, MiG-21s and MiG-23s performed airstrikes against terrorist militias mechanisms in Ganfouda area and carried out armed reconnaissance sorties on the city of Ajdabiya. The same day, Mi-35 and Mi-8 of the Thunder Team targeted sites in Derna. On 7, after five days of work, MiG-21bis serial '404' and '800' at Tobruk airbase and MiG-23BN serial '4136' at al-Abraq airbase returned to service. MiG-23BN carried out combat sorties over several locations in Derna and Benghazi.

GNA affiliated Air Force operations

On 22 July, Misrata operations room announced that its fighter jets carried out more than 27 sorties over the past 72 hours during which targeted militants and mechanisms inside Sirte. More than eight MEDEVAC sorties were realised in the same period. On 29, Misrata announced that its Air Force carried out nine air raids during the last twenty-four hours in the center of Sirte. On 3 August, six combat sorties targeted IS miltants and vehicles in Sirte.