Wanis Bukhamada (until 2020) Abdul Salam Al-Hassi (since 2020)
Dates of operation
1970 – present
Headquarters
Benghazi
Active regions
Benghazi
Size
Up to 5,000 soldiers[1]
Part of
Libyan National Army
Allies
Libyan National Army
Opponents
Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries Ansar al-Sharia Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Battles and wars
Libyan Civil War (2011) 2013 Benghazi conflict Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
The Libyan Special Forces (LSF) (Arabic: القوات الخاصة الليبية), also known as the Al-Saiqa or Saiqa Special Forces[2][3][4] and simply Saiqa[5] or Al-Saiqa[6][7] (Arabic: الصاعقة; English: lightning, thunderbolt), are an elite Libyan National Army unit formed from a mixture of paratroopers, paramilitary forces and commandos. (They should not be confused with the similarly named Lightning Bolt Brigade (Sawaiq Brigade) which is part of the Zintan Brigades.) Prominent LSF commander Mahmoud al-Werfalli was indicted in 2017 and 2018 by the International Criminal Court for the war crime of murdering and ordering the murders of non-combatants,[8][9] and was assassinated in 2021.[10]
^Finucci, Francesco. "Libya: military actors and militias" (PDF). Global Security. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
^Manna, Fatih (12 July 2017). "«الصاعقة» تفتح باب القبول لتجنيد متطوعين في الخدمة العسكرية" ["Thunderbolt" opens the door to recruit volunteers for military service]. Al-Wasat. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
^"مقتل عناصر من القوات الخاصة الليبية في اشتباكات مع مسلحين في بنغازي" [Members of the Libyan Special Forces killed in clashes with gunmen in Benghazi]. فرانس 24 / France 24 (in Arabic). 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
^"Grenade thrown at entrance to Saiqa headquarters in Buatni". European Affairs. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
^Calder, Ryan (2011-04-05). "The Accordion War: Libya's Ever-Moving Front". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
^"هل تصبح الصاعقة رأس حربة لقوات حفتر؟" [Will the Thunderbolt become a spearhead for Haftar's forces?]. www.aljazeera.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-10-15.
^Cite error: The named reference ICC arrest warrant was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference ICC_Werfalli_1970_report15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference ICC_assassinated was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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Global Information
Libyan National Army
Ansar al-Sharia 
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant