LIBYA – The Libyan National Army (LNA) captured 29-year-old Jimmy Reiss, a Portuguese mercenary pilot, who was flying a Mirage F1 warplane of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) before it was shot down by LNA this morning.

Here is footage of the early moments in which the Libyan National Army (LNA) shot down a Mirage F1 warplane of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) this morning.

Footage showing soldiers of the Libyan National Army (LNA) arresting the 29-year-old Portuguese pilot of a Mirage F1 warplane of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which LNA shot down this morning in Tripoli.

Early footage of wreckage of a Mirage F1 warplane of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which the Libyan National Army (LNA) shot down this morning in Tripoli. </s> Troops loyal to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar claimed to have shot down a fighter jet being flown by a Portuguese mercenary near the capital Tripoli.

The Mirage F1, which they said belonged to the rival Unity Government, was downed in Al-Hira region, 50 miles (70km) south of the capital, Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army said on its Facebook page Tuesday.

The Libyan National Army paraded the pilot for the cameras and took a video in which he identifies himself as Jimmy Reis and says he is 29 years old.

Video showed the pilot looking groggy and wearing a blood-soaked T-shirt and khaki jacket, being questioned in English.

Asked what he was doing in Libya, he said: "I was requested to destroy roads and bridges".

Asked who sent him, he said it was a civilian contract with someone called Hadi but he did not know his full name.

In Lisbon, the Portuguese Defence Ministry and they could not confirm the pilot's nationality.

"For now the only thing we can say is that he is not a Portuguese soldier," a ministry spokeswoman told Reuters.

One image circulating online showed a bloodied man in combat fatigues sitting in a chair surrounded by soldiers with a wound on his head.

Another showed him sitting shirtless in a chair with a tattoo on his chest.

An LNA commander, Abdulsalam al-Hassi, was seen standing behind him in a third picture.

In a second video the man is asked in English by an LNA fighter in the back of a pickup truck whether he was a soldier. 'No, I am a civilian,' he says.

It was not immediately clear how the pilot came to be in Libya and who he was flying for when he was shot down.

One LNA spokesman told Turkey's Anadolu news agency that the pilot was a mercenary flying for the Government of National Accord, the UN-recognised force which is fighting the LNA.

But another spokesman told Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya that the pilot was working for the EU's Operation Sofia, tackling people smuggling in the Mediterranean.

The spokesman said the jet had been shot down 'by mistake' and promised to 'deliver the pilot to his country immediately after the treatment of his wounds.'

Portugal's National Defence and Foreign Affairs ministry said it was aware of the case and investigating, but gave no more information.

The GNA had not given a statement at the time of publication, nor had EUNAVFOR MED, which orchestrates EU operations in the Mediterranean.

Portuguese paper Diario de Noticias quoted a spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces saying that it was 'impossible' the pilot was from the EU.

'At this time there are no Air Force maritime surveillance aircraft on a mission in the Mediterranean,' commander Coleho Dias said.

If the pilot does turn out to be a mercenary, it would not be the first time a Portuguese pilot has been killed fighting for the GNA.

In June 2016, a Portuguese mercenary flying the air force's only Mirage jet crashed near the city of Sirte after suffering mechanical problems.

The man ejected, but died of his injuries.

Khalifa Haftar leads the Libyan National Army, formed of members of the country's former army and air force which back a government in the eastern city of Damascus.

In April, Haftar launched an offensive on Tripoli in an attempt to take control of the whole of the country, which has been riven with sectarian violence since Muammar Gaddafi was killed in 2011.

The almost five-week-old battle on the southern outskirts of Tripoli has killed at least 432 people, wounded 2,069 and displaced some 55,000 others, according to the UN.

After initial advances for the LNA, its rivals have launched a counter-offensive, leading to a stalemate on the ground.

The two sides often accuse each of resorting to the use of foreign mercenaries and outside military assistance.

Libya has been mired in chaos since the ouster and killing of Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with Haftar supporting a rival administration in the east of the country. </s> The pilot of a fighter jet shot down south of Tripoli by the Libyan National Army is allegedly a Portuguese fighting in Libya as a "mercenary," Haftar's forces claim, as photos of the captured pilot covered in blood emerge online.Photos posted on social media show a bloodied man in military-style clothessurrounded by forces said to be loyal to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA).Citing Haftar's forces that sent her the photos, the Independent's Middle East correspondent Bel Trew said the man was a "foreign national" from Portugal. While Trew chose to crop out the man's face, plenty of uncensored photos have emerged elsewhere from the same scene.The pilot was allegedly captured after his jet was shot down over the Wadi al-Hira area, located south of the Libyan capital of Tripoli. Earlier, there were conflicting reports about his nationality, with some media outlets claiming he was an Italian. The LNA Military Information Division has since claimed he was a "Portuguese mercenary."Footage also surfaced on social media showing the pilot giving his alleged name and nationality during questioning.Portuguese MPs in the European Parliament have already reacted to the reports. Ana Maria Gomes, an MEP from the Socialist Party, retweeted some of the photos while askingReports say the captured pilot was flyingLibyan forces had 38 of the jets since the late 1970s, and France agreed to modernize the remaining fleet in 2012 after </s> The Libyan National Army (LNA) said the military plane they had shot down in southern Tripoli belonged to the EU’s Operation Sophia and that they will immediately return its foreign Portuguese pilot.

The LNA said that initial information proved that the plane was a European surveillance plane used to monitor the illegal migrant smuggling routes in the Mediterranean.

“We will deliver the Portuguese pilot to his country immediately after the treatment of his wounds and we appreciate the work of our European brothers in the fight against illegal immigration,” LNA spokesperson Ahmed Mismari said in a statement.

“We care about the safety of the Portuguese pilot and treat him as a guest rather than a prisoner. What happened was a mistake as a result of the state of war we are going through, and we will hand him over to the European Sofia operation immediately,” Mismari added.

The LNA forces of military commander Khalifa Haftar said they had shot down a military plane in the southern district of al-Hira on Saturday.

Earlier, there were conflicting reports regarding the pilot’s nationality, with some claiming he was an Italian. But in a video seen by Al Arabiya English, the pilot, appearing with a head injury, identified himself by name and said he is from Portugal.

In early April, Haftar, who commands forces loyal to a rival government based in eastern Libya, launched a wide-ranging campaign to capture Tripoli, where the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is headquartered. </s> General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army claims to have shot down a military airplane belonging to the Tripoli-based government of national accord (GNA) that took off from Misrata.LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari told reporters about the incident during a press briefing on Wednesday. He did not specify the type of the plane, just that it had taken off from the GNA-controlled Misrata and was shot down over Tripoli.Unconfirmed reports indicate it was an Aero L-39 Albatros, a Czech-made training jet often used in a ground attack role.As LNA troops advanced, the remaining US forces in Libya pulled out from Tripoli. There were conflicting reports of checkpoints taken and lost, as well as air strikes by both sides in the area.Once the most prosperous country in Africa, Libya lapsed into chaos and civil war in 2011, when NATO backed Islamist rebels in overthrowing and brutally murdering the country's long-time ruler, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. </s> BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar shot down a Tripoli government warplane purportedly flown by a foreign mercenary south of the Libyan capital on Tuesday, the Libyan National Army (LNA) said.

The LNA media unit released photographs of what it said was the pilot receiving medical treatment while seated on a chair. One showed an LNA commander, Abdulsalam al-Hassi, standing behind him.

Video posted on social media, which an LNA source said was authentic, showed the pilot, looking groggy and wearing a blood-soaked T-shirt and khaki jacket, being questioned in English.

Asked his name, he said what sounded to be Jimmy Rees but his answer was not clear. He gave his age as 29 and said he was “from Portugal”.

Asked what he was doing in Libya, he said: “I was requested to destroy roads and bridges”. Asked who sent him, he said it was a civilian contract with someone called Hadi but he did not know his full name.

In Lisbon, the Portuguese Defense Ministry and they could not confirm the pilot’s nationality.

“For now the only thing we can say is that he is not a Portuguese soldier,” a ministry spokeswoman told Reuters.

Reuters correspondents in Lisbon said the man did not sound Portuguese.

A spokesman for forces aligned with the internationally recognized government which is based in Tripoli had no immediate comment on the incident.

Residents of Gharyan, about 80 km (50 miles) south of Tripoli, said that when the plane was heard overhead, anti-aircraft fire opened up. There was an explosion as it was hit.

“The jet was shot down in Al-Hira town (10 km from Gharyan) and I saw LNA troops capturing the pilot,” a Gharyan resident told Reuters.

The eastern-based LNA, led by Haftar and backed principally by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, began an offensive against Tripoli in early April but its advance has been blocked by forces loyal to Tripoli on the city’s southern outskirts.

The escalation is a setback for efforts by the United Nations and Western states to end the chaos and political division in Libya eight years after a NATO-backed uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. </s> The east Libyan faction that launched an assault on Tripoli last month said it had shot down and captured a European mercenary flying an attack jet for the internationally recognized government.

The Libyan National Army, which fighting rivals militias allied with the country's UN-supported government, said it shot down a fighter jet the man was flying south of the capital on Monday.

The media unit of the LNA released photographs and video of a wounded man being interrogated in English on Tuesday afternoon. One picture showed an LNA commander, Abdulsalam al-Hassi, standing behind him.

In footage published by pro-LNA media, the man gives name that sounds like "Jimmy Reese." He says he is 29 years old, from Portugal, and that he was flying on a "civilian contract" to "destroy roads and bridges."

Asked who recruited him, he said he signed a contract with a man called Hadi but did not know his second name. </s> General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army claims to have shot down a military airplane belonging to the Tripoli-based government of national accord (GNA) that took off from Misrata.

LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari told reporters about the incident during a press briefing on Wednesday. He did not specify the type of the plane, just that it had taken off from the GNA-controlled Misrata and was shot down over Tripoli.

Unconfirmed reports indicate it was an Aero L-39 Albatros, a Czech-made training jet often used in a ground attack role.

Haftar’s forces control almost 80 percent of Libya, and last week moved against militias supporting the GNA in the west of the country, calling them “illegal armed groups.”

As LNA troops advanced, the remaining US forces in Libya pulled out from Tripoli. There were conflicting reports of checkpoints taken and lost, as well as air strikes by both sides in the area.

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Clashes have resulted in the cancellation of a UN-sponsored peace conference, which sought to negotiate a power-sharing arrangement between the LNA and the internationally recognized GNA of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, which controls less than 8 percent of Libya’s territory.

Once the most prosperous country in Africa, Libya lapsed into chaos and civil war in 2011, when NATO backed Islamist rebels in overthrowing and brutally murdering the country’s long-time ruler, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Like this story? Share it with a friend! </s> A Libyan pro-regime fighter with the Government of National Accord (GNA) fires at Islamic State jihadists during clashes for control of Sirte, on September 3, 2016. By Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File)

Tripoli (AFP) - Forces loyal to Libya's unity government said Monday at least 80 jihadists were killed at the weekend in the city of Sirte, a former stronghold of the Islamic State group.

"Commanders of front line units have counted at least corpses (of jihadists) killed as they tried in vain to attack behind the lines" of the loyalists, said the media office of forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA).

It said in a statement sent to AFP that the bodies of another 25 jihadists were found in alleyways of the battleground coastal city.

The pro-GNA forces, who reported eight soldiers killed and 57 wounded on Sunday, said vehicles, arms and ammunition were seized in the latest round of an assault launched on May 12 and executed in phases to recapture Sirte from IS.

A Dutch journalist covering the clashes in Sirte, Jeroen Oerlemans who worked for the Belgian weekly Knack, was shot dead on Sunday.

Oerlemans became the second journalist killed in the fighting in Sirte after Abdelqader Fsouk, a Libyan who died in July.

On Saturday, GNA aircraft conducted six sorties in preparation for another advance on the jihadists' last hideouts in the city's east.

American aircraft have also carried out 177 air strikes since August 1 in support of GNA forces, according to US Africa Command (AFRICOM).

The fighting has left more than 450 GNA fighters dead and 2,500 wounded. The IS death toll is not known.
The Libyan National Army shoots down a pro-GNA Mirage F1 fighter jet over Tripoli, capturing its pilot, claimed to be Portuguese, though the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs couldn't confirm his identity. Pictures released by the LNA's media office show the wounded pilot flanked by LNA officials.