--- description: The militant group ISIS has executed at least 49 people in the Libyan city of Sirte since declaring its presence there in February 2015 title: ISIS Has Executed Dozens in Libyan Stronghold, Report Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c6a7dacbde88618/698893af428a9e17d6cd2aef/sirte-isis-executions-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 # ISIS Has Executed Dozens in Libyan Stronghold, Report Says  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent May 18, 2016 11:48 AM CUT  A Libyan woman walks past the rubble of a building in the Mediterranean city of Sirte, Oct. 13, 2012. A Libyan woman walks past the rubble of a building in the Mediterranean city of Sirte, Oct. 13, 2012.Mahmud Turkia—AFP/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent May 18, 2016 11:48 AM CUT The [militant group ISIS](http://time.com/4119974/beating-isis/ "undefined") has executed at least 49 people in the Libyan city of Sirte since declaring its presence there in February 2015, according to a report. The [report](https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/05/18/libya-isis-executed-dozens-newest-stronghold "undefined") from advocacy group Human Rights Watch says that ISIS militants decapitated, shot and hanged people accused of a slew of violations including “spying,” “sorcery,” and “insulting God.” ISIS, which serves as the de facto government in the city of 100,000, has diverted resources like food and medicine from civilians to support the group’s militants. “While the world’s attention is focused on atrocities in Syria and Iraq, ISIS is also getting away with murder in Libya,” said Letta Tayler, Human Rights Watch senior terrorism and counterterrorism researcher. ISIS controls a 120-mile stretch of land along the coast of Libya and maintains as many as 10,000 fighters in the country, according to a _Foreign Policy_ [report](http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/02/18/how-much-of-libya-does-the-islamic-state-control/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4339755/isis-libya-executions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4339755/isis-libya-executions/"},"headline":"ISIS Has Executed Dozens in Libyan Stronghold, Report Says","datePublished":"2016-05-18T11:48:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:37:40.608Z","description":"'While the world’s attention is focused on atrocities in Syria and Iraq, ISIS is also getting away with murder in Libya'","url":"https://time.com/4339755/isis-libya-executions/","keywords":["Libya"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c6a7dacbde88618/698893af428a9e17d6cd2aef/sirte-isis-executions-libya.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c6a7dacbde88618/698893af428a9e17d6cd2aef/sirte-isis-executions-libya.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"LIBYA-CONFLICT-KADHAFI-1YEAR","caption":"A Libyan woman walks past the rubble of a building in the Mediterranean city of Sirte, Oct. 13, 2012.","creditText":"Mahmud Turkia—AFP/Getty Images","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/4339755/isis-libya-executions/","name":"ISIS Has Executed Dozens in Libyan Stronghold, Report Says"}}]}] ```