According to CNN reports, fighters of the Islamic State are now in total control of the Libyan city of Derna, which is located near the Egyptian border and just 200 miles from the southern shores of the European Union, i.e. the Greek island of Crete!

Citing Libyan sources, the American network says that the ISIS fighters are expanding rapidly their presence westwards along the coast. More specifically, CNN reports that the Derna branch of ISIS has approximately 800 fighters and operates half a dozen camps on the outskirts of the town.

The branch has been recently bolstered by the return to Libya from Syria and Iraq of up to 300 Libyan jihadists who were part of ISIS’ al Battar Brigade, the American network says.

Noman Benotman, a former Libyan jihadist now involved in counter-terrorism for the Quilliam Foundation told CNN that “Derna today looks identical to Raqqa, the ISIS headquarters town in Syria,” adding that “ISIS pose a serious threat in Libya. They are well on the way to creating an Islamic emirate in eastern Libya.”