ISIL assassinates governor in S Yemen
The governor of the southern port of Aden has been killed in a car bombing. ISIL has claimed responsibility. The civil war between north and south is weakening government across the country and killing a governor further weakness the South’s already precarious government. This opens the opportunity for Islamist groups to establish themselves. ISIL and al Qaeda are competing for supremacy an enjoy some support from Sunnis.
French aircraft conduct reconnaissance missions over Libya
After the Paris attacks, France is much more active in the ISIL War. It has already struck Syria and it is now preparing to strike ISIL in Libya. The view here is that France would allocate significant resources to fighting ISIL and al Qaeda in the Maghreb, which are only a few hundred miles off the southern coast of France.
Meanwhile, an agreement has been reached among Libyan factions. They may find common cause against ISIL which holds a swathe of territory along the coast, but not on much else. Like many parts of MENA, national boundaries are meaningless. Libya is three different countries now.