--- description: The city is only hours from Tobruk, where the remnants of the central government fled to after it was forced out of Tripoli in the summer title: ISIS Takes Control of City of Derna in Eastern Libya image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3818df0f6b7812a4/6987696f8e0601609c458a5f/isis-libya.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Libya](/tag/libya/) ## Libya Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Report: ISIS Takes Control of a Libyan City by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:44 PM CUTPublished: Nov 19, 2014 6:46 AM CUT  An armed motorcade belonging to members of Derna's Islamic Youth Council, seen in Derna, eastern Libya on Oct. 3, 2014. An armed motorcade belonging to members of Derna's Islamic Youth Council, seen in Derna, eastern Libya on Oct. 3, 2014.Reuters by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:44 PM CUTPublished: Nov 19, 2014 6:46 AM CUT Militants loyal to the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) are now in control of a Libyan city of near the Egyptian border, according to [a new report](http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/18/world/isis-libya/index.html?hpt=hp%5Fc1 "undefined"). CNN, citing unnamed Libyan sources, reports that militants control Derna, a city only a few hours from Tobruk, where the remnants of Libya’s central government fled to after being forced out of the capital this summer. Approximately 300 of the 800-strong force in control of Derna are reportedly hard-line Libyan jihadists who fought with ISIS in Iraq an Syria. The report is the latest sign of ISIS looking to expand its footprint across the Middle East despite U.S.-led air strikes against it in Iraq and Syria. Libya has been in turmoil since the fall of former strongman Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011 [Read more at CNN](http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/18/world/isis-libya/index.html?hpt=hp%5Fc1 "undefined") _Read next:_ [_Terrorism-Related Deaths Up 60% Last Year, Study Says_](http://time.com/3591764/terrorism-deaths-increase/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3593885/isis-libya-iraq-syria-terrorism-derna/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3593885/isis-libya-iraq-syria-terrorism-derna/"},"headline":"Report: ISIS Takes Control of a Libyan City","datePublished":"2014-11-19T06:46:07.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T23:44:15.000Z","description":"Derna is just hours from Tobruk, where what's left of the central government is based","url":"https://time.com/3593885/isis-libya-iraq-syria-terrorism-derna/","keywords":["Libya","Syria","Iraq","Terrorism","ISIS","Muammar Gaddafi","Mosul","tripoli"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3818df0f6b7812a4/6987696f8e0601609c458a5f/isis-libya.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3818df0f6b7812a4/6987696f8e0601609c458a5f/isis-libya.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An armed motorcade belonging to members of Derna's Islamic Youth Council, consisting of former members of militias from the town of Derna, drive along a road in Derna, eastern Libya","caption":"An armed motorcade belonging to members of Derna's Islamic Youth Council, seen in Derna, eastern Libya on Oct. 3, 2014.","creditText":"Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/libya/","name":"Libya"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3593885/isis-libya-iraq-syria-terrorism-derna/","name":"Report: ISIS Takes Control of a Libyan City"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What the ISIS Flag Says About the Militant Group","description":"The black and white standard of the Sunni militants gives some insight into how the group sees itself","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QFjP70IG/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-17T14:21:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QFjP70IG.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3593885/isis-libya-iraq-syria-terrorism-derna/","duration":"PT2M12S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3593885/isis-libya-iraq-syria-terrorism-derna/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```