Isis in Libya: Saudi militant calls for jihadis from Tunisia to rally against Libyan Army

A Saudi militant fighting with the offshoot of Islamic State (Isis) in Libya has used a video to call for jihadists from across the world, from the Arabian Peninsula to Tunisia, to rally in the North African country and fight for IS against the Libyan Army.

Libyan state news agency LANA reported that the video originated from Sirte where one week ago IS launched a brutal crackdown on dissenting locals. The violence culminated in the public execution of 12 resistance leaders.

The propaganda video featured a masked fighter with a Saudi Arabian accent who has been identified as Abu Ali Jazrawi. The militant, who is reported by LANA to be a leader of IS's "Tripoli State" branch, is relatively unknown.

An activist in Benghazi told IBTimes UK that IS's spiritual leader in Libya, a Libyan called Hassan Karami, was well known in the country. He explained that the group's prominent military leader in Sirte was Turki al-Binali, a fighter from Bahrain.

Jazrawi, who may have been chosen to appear in the IS propaganda film because of his foreign appeal, called on jihadists from the Arabian Peninsula, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan to fight against the Libyan Army and Commander Khalifa Haftar. The words from his speech "the call to arms in Libya" have since become a popular hashtag on Twitter on accounts held by those supporting the extremist group.

The Arab League is currently considering measures against IS in Sirte following calls for an intervention from Libya's internationally recognised government. The military action looks increasingly likely to extend only as far as air strikes with both Libya's prime minister and its military saying they would not accept the presence of foreign troops on the ground in Libya.