US airstrikes target Islamic State in Libya

The Pentagon has announced that announced that, at the request of the United Nations-backed Libyan government, the USA has begun conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Libya. “Additional US strikes will continue to target ISIL in Sirte in order to enable [Libya’s unity government] to make a decisive, strategic advance”, Cook said.

The United States has carried out air strikes on positions of so-called Islamic State in Libya, following a request by the UN-backed government there, the Pentagon says.

USA warplanes hit the ISIS stronghold of Sirte in Libya in support of the Tripoli government’s efforts to retake the port city, the Pentagon said Monday.

Victory in Sirte would cement recent territorial gains against Islamic State and deprive the jihadist group of its only base outside the Middle East.

“These vehicles and the ISIL [Daesh] fighters there posed a threat to [GNA] forces on the ground trying to recapture a neighborhood there”, Cook explained. Within weeks, the militias liberated large sections of the seaside city.

Almost three months into a campaign to recapture the city, brigades mainly composed of fighters from nearby Misrata are waging sporadic street battles in residential areas where militants use snipers, mines and concealed explosives to defend their positions.

Western powers have offered to support the GNA in its efforts to tackle Islamic State, stem the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean and revive Libya’s oil production.

The IS has claimed responsibility for a series of suicide attacks in Libya. Even now, the GNA has not been officially endorsed by the internationally-recognized Libyan parliament, which is not headquartered in the national capital of Tripoli, having been displaced by Islamist gangs long ago.

As The Two-Way reported, ISIS has controlled Sirte since last August.

More than 300 of the fighters have died and more than 1,500 have been wounded since the campaign began. The Libyan government asked for Monday’s strike in Sirte.

Western powers have become increasingly concerned about the growth of Isis in Libya, where Islamist groups have spread through a power vacuum following the removal of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

In Iraq, the USA -led military coalition has taken back roughly half of the territory seized by ISIS.

In a statement Monday, Fayez Serraj, who heads the GNA, said the strikes mark another step in the battle against ISIS but said foreign involvement would consist of logistical or technical support only. “We repeat from here our rejection of interference by any nation or attempts to violate Libya’s sovereignty”, he said.

The Pentagon said Monday’s strikes, authorised by President Barack Obama, were in support of government forces now fighting IS militants. “In another way, it could backfire against him in Libya”, Eljarh said. The embattled official government said the intervention was made at its request and caused “major casualties”.

While the airstrikes against Islamic State were carried out, no ground forces were deployed.

Precision strikes would target key IS military infrastructure such as tanks, high-calibre weapons and command and control nodes.