Tripoli Brigade The Tripoli Brigade or Free Tripoli Guardian is a unit of the National Liberation Army of Libya created during the Libyan Civil War . Originally formed in April 2011 in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi , it later relocated to the Nafusa Mountains , then the closest frontline to Tripoli , before advancing into the city itself in August . In November 2011 , the brigade began taking measures to disband and integrate itself more with the N . T . C . ' s new national army , the brigade announced over its Twitter account . Commanders . The brigade ' s Commander - in - Chief is a Libyan - Irish citizen Mahdi al - Harati and Abu Oweis is deputy commander . Mohamed Tabuni is the brigade ' s General Commander . Col Abdul Latif is the commander of Seraai al - Hamra , one of the four sub - brigades of the overall Tripoli Brigade . Foundation . In February 2011 Mahdi al - Harati travelled from Ireland to Benghazi and began to create a well - organised group that could fight in the western provinces of Libya . He gathered 15 highly educated men , all of whom had extensive expertise and skills . The proposal for a Tripoli revolutionary brigade was put before the Benghazi - based National Transitional Council , and was immediately approved . Within days the Tripoli Brigade had 150 recruits . They received basic military training before transferring to the mountains in the western provinces . By August 2011 , the brigade had 570 men from all over the country within its ranks . The brigade started with a core group of 15 men , but grew within days to 150 , during the training period in Zintan and Nalut numbers swelled to 470 , and was recorded at 570 at Zawiya . During the assault to enter Tripoli the brigade was reported in the UK Telegraph newspaper to number just under 1 , 000 . On 30 August the brigade had swelled to 1300 fighters in Tripoli . Its General commander also stated that it had troops waiting to join once the brigade entered Tripoli . The majority of the brigade ' s volunteer fighters are from Tripoli , or nearby towns and villages , and know the city streets well , making them prime candidates for taking the city . Based in Nalut University , the brigade numbers about 1300 armed fighters . The brigade saw action throughout the 2011 Nafusa Mountains Campaign including in the towns of Nalut , Bir Ghanem and Tiji , in combat against loyalist forces . Due to the threat of perceived reprisals against the families of Tripoli brigade soldiers , their faces must be covered , at least when being filmed by journalists . Many of the brigade ' s members were involved during the 2011 Tripoli clashes in February , and fled the capital to avoid loyalist forces , and then regrouped in later months to form the Tripoli Brigade , with the ultimate goal of advancing out of the Nafusa Mountain range , and to the capital . The brigade has several officers who have lived most of their lives in English speaking countries including Ireland , Canada , UK and the US . This proved vital with co - ordination with NATO and also in interviews and interaction with western media . The Brigade has an English language Facebook page . Training . Although the Brigade is not an elite force , its Nalut headquarters was described by AP news agency as ' high tech ' . It did receive communications equipment and three week ' s urban warfare training from Qatari special forces in the Nafusa mountains . It is noted for its extreme training ; during which recruits woke at 5 : 30 a . m . for a 45 minute run , followed by daylong marching and weapons training . The brigade has also created an eight - man urban sniper unit . The brigade is often referred to as an elite brigade by the National Transitional Council and the media . This is not an accurate description as very few are professional soldiers . In a media interview in Tripoli , Commander Harati said his battalion is not an elite armed force and that it is “ important to understand that we are all civilians . We are not the military ” . The enrolling register counts many professionals among its members including doctors , businessmen , mechanics , engineers , and web designers . Battle of Tripoli . Their main aim , once in control of Tripoli , was to control and protect strategic locations , infrastructure and other important sites . On 20 August , a large uprising broke out in Tripoli , with rebel forces speeding towards the capital from the west and the east . The Tripoli Brigade was the spearhead of the rebel fighters assault on Tripoli . In a 32 kilometer push launched at dawn , the Tripoli Brigade reached the suburbs of Tripoli by early afternoon following a non - stop artillery shelling of advancing rebel troops . In response a large anti - aircraft artillery piece fired rounds at loyalist troops . The Tripoli Brigade took a key military base and the 27th bridge , a gateway to the capital , just a day after defeating loyalist troops in Zawiya . Divided into four battalions the Brigade attacked the capital from three directions . The only impediment to a rush into the capital was on another front line , outside the town of Azizia , the Tripoli Brigade and allies from the western mountain forces were ordered to hold back while the alliance carried out heavy bombing raids on loyalist positions there . The Tripoli Brigade were reported to be the first revolutionaries to enter the city and the first to enter the main Green Square , that was renamed Martyr Square . On entering Tripoli the Tripoli Brigade took command of the Women ' s police training centre as their headquarters . The Tripoli Brigade , alongside rebel forces from Misrata , were also the first to punch through the main gates of Gaddafi ' s former residence , Bab al Azizia . The UK Daily Telegraph reported of the brigade " The rebels pushing into Tripoli are young professionals fighting to establish a very different country from the dictatorship founded well before they were born ' . France 24 TV channel had a reporter travelling with the Tripoli Brigade during the final assault on the capital . It reported that the brigade lost sixty fighters during the first 48 hours in Tripoli . The Tripoli brigade were front - line troops during the taking of Colonel Gaddafi ' s famous residential compound , Bab al Azizia . Officers from the Tripoli Brigade were reported as leading the attack . The Misrata Brigade with heavier trucks and artillery guns broke the perimeter of the compound and the Tripoli Brigade provided the infantry that flooded through the breached walls . An English reporter quoted in the Irish Times spoke of the Commander - in - chief ' rallying the troops ' during the storming at the compound . The brigade ' s website reported that its media team had to take up rifles during this attack in which they took 100 prisoners . Activities after the Battle of Tripoli . In the weeks after the fall of the Gaddafi Government in Tripoli the brigade took a major role in the securing the city and clearing it of the few remaining pockets of resistance . The commander of the brigade was appointed second in command of the newly formed Tripoli Military council . This council ' s aim is to unify the country ' s various armed brigades . Mahdi al - Harati said that Khamis Gaddafi was killed after a military battle with Tripoli Military Council forces between the villages of Taruna and Bani Walid . The battleground is in north - west Libya , near Misrata . He stated Khamis was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries . He was then reportedly buried in the area by rebel forces . There was no independent evidence to support the claim . The brigade has been guarding Tripoli ' s airports , as well as the hotels of foreign journalists and diplomats since they took the city . On 5 October , a new batch of recruits successfully graduated and became part of the Tripoli Brigade . The same day , the head of the brigade announced that two mass graves had been uncovered in and around Tripoli containing up 900 bodies of Gaddafi ' s opponents . On 10 October , members of the Kekka Brigade from Zintan , attempted to surround some of the Tripoli Brigade , after a heated argument over who should police Tripoli and attempted to prevent them from leaving the area . Tripoli Brigade reinforcements arrived and convinced the Kekka brigade to withdraw , preventing any armed clashes breaking out . Fighting broke out on 31 October between the Tripoli Brigade and a brigade from Zintan when the Zintanians attempted to enter a hospital and kill a patient they had shot earlier in the day . Tripoli Brigade guards prevented them from doing so and a firefight broke out which left two dead and seven wounded , Members of the brigade also volunteered to join the side of the anti - Assad rebels in Syria during the Syrian civil war in 2012 . Noted members . The brigade ' s Commander - in - Chief is a Libyan - Irish citizen Colonel Mahdi al - Harati . He was described by the Dutch daily newspaper " Volksrant " as being a face of the battle of Tripoli and one of the most important commanders in the National Liberation Army . Deputy chief of Tripoli Military Council . He resigned from his post in November 2011 . Abu Oweis acts as deputy commander . Issam Shabaan , the son of Gaddafi ' s first defence minister , Mohammad Shabaan , is the NATO liaison with the Brigade . Col . Abdul Latif , is the commander of Seraai al - Hamra , one of the four brigades . Husam Najjair , Head of Security . Irish born relative of the Brigade ' s Commander - in - Chief . The brigade ' s physical trainer is a former soccer player from a club in Munich .