Watchdog says Muslim Sufi shrines in Libya face more attacks

CAIRO – An international rights group says Muslim Sufi places of worship face increasing attacks in Libya.

Thursday's Human Rights Watch statement says two historic Sufi mosques were attacked in November and October in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, which is under control of a U.N.-backed government.

The group also cited a September report on the abduction of 21 Sufis in eastern Libya a month earlier.

HRW says successive authorities "have failed" to protect Sufis from militias since 2011 uprising. Libya sank into lawlessness after the ouster and killing of Moammar Gadhafi.

Islamic militants, including the Islamic State group, consider Sufis heretics because of their less literal interpretations of the faith.

In Egypt, Islamic militants killed more than 300 worshippers in November at a mosque frequented by Sufis in the turbulent northern Sinai.