ICC Note: Weak and failing governments in the Middle East and North Africa are the perfect breeding grounds for new ISIS strongholds.  One such example has been in Libya.  As radical Islamic groups fought the interim Libya government following the death of Gaddafi, ISIS began to ease its way into Libya, making their first “statement” with the public, recorded beheading of 21 Christians in February 2015.  Despite President Sisi’s Egypt being the first country to strike ISIS targets in Libya, global powers have remained largely unwilling to intervene until recently with US-led air strikes.  On Sunday, Tunisia suffered an attack from ISIS factions on a border town with Libya. Recent reports have the death toll close to 54 people at this point.  The concern over ISIS growth in Libya has caused Tunisia to close its border with Libya for fear of future ISIS influence in the small North African country.  The fears of ISIS power in Libya have caused more moderate Islamic countries in N. Africa, such as Egypt and Algeria, to fear a potential “spill-over” of ISIS influence throughout their own territories.

3/7/2016 Tunis, Tunisia (NY Times) – Fear engulfed Tunisia on Monday that Islamic State mayhem was spilling over from neighboring Libya, as dozens of militants stormed a Tunisian town near the border, assaulting police and military posts in what the president called an unprecedented attack.

At least 54 people were killed in the fighting in the town, Ben Gardane, which erupted at dawn and lasted for hours until the security forces chased out what remained of the assailants. An enormous stash of weapons was later found.

The authorities said at least 36 militants were among the dead. The others were a mix of security forces and civilians, including a 12-year-old girl.

It was unclear where the assailants had come from, although some witnesses reported that they had local accents and had pronounced themselves as liberators. But President Beji Caid Essebsi of Tunisia, increasingly alarmed about the Islamic State’s expansion in Libya, blamed the militant group. In a televised address, he suggested that the motive was to create a new Islamic State territory on Tunisian soil, similar to the 150-mile stretch it controls in Libya.

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