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Libya's Haftar vows 'strong' response for assassination attempt

June 5, 2014 at 11:43 am

Libyan renegade general Khalifa Haftar, who survived an assignation attempt in which three of his guards were killed, vowed to direct “a strong response” at those he called “terrorists” and “extremist groups”.

Shortly after the assassination attempt, Haftar told Sky News Arabia that the Libyan army will respond strongly in the next few hours.

Two weeks ago, Haftar, 71, launched a military offensive in Benghazi against extremist militants affiliated with the Ansar Al-Sharia group. The offensive, dubbed Operation Dignity, aims to “uproot the terrorist groups” spread across eastern Libya.

“Over the past two days, we launched several attacks against these terrorist groups and we inflicted major losses on them,” he said.

“The attack on us did not cause any harm, and they will pay a very high price for it,” he added.

Haftar said that his retaliatory attacks will target several cities but will focus on Benghazi.

He said the Libyan National Army that he leads “does not need support. We have no contact with any other states.”