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