Armed clashes erupted in Surman on Saturday between a force from the western region led by Sabratha's Fighting Kidnapping and Extortion Force and a criminal gang headed by an outlaw named Al-Nimri, who is now holding dozens of hostages, including three Children from Al-Shirshari family.

Senior revolutionary commander from Surman Abdullah Hadlool and his son were killed in the clashes against Al-Nimri militia. 7 others from Sabratha force were also injured in the raid.

Fate of the hostages is still unclear.

The clashes came in the wake of the arrest of around 7 members of the criminal gang in raids carried out by the force against kidnapping and extortion hubs, which led to obtaining important information about the location of the gang leaders who were bargaining with Al-Shirshari family for LYD 20 million ransom as a condition to release the three abducted children and ensure their safe return to their parents.

Upon the confession statements by the arrested gang members, it became possible to identify many of their victims, including Farouk Al-Fathali, from Sabratha, who was abducted in demand of LYD 1,250,000 ransom.

The arrested gangsters also confessed about operations that included robbery and burglary on fuel stations, factories, and persons using machine guns and hunting rifles while moving between cities of Al-Zawiya, Sabratha and Surman.

The criminal gang formation used to adopt methods of prevarication, disguise, changing the place of residence and transfer of their abductees from one place to another; besides, one of the arrestees revealed that they were planning to escape abroad as soon as they collect the biggest possible amount of money and obtain their passports