US launches air strikes on IS in Libya - BBC News
The Pentagon said Monday's strikes, authorised by President Barack Obama, were in support of government forces currently fighting IS militants.
"These actions and those we have taken previously will help deny ISIL a safe haven in Libya from which it could attack the United States and our allies," the Pentagon statement continued, using another term for IS.
It now appears the US has formally started a sustained air campaign to degrade the IS group's capabilities in Sirte. The jihadists have been losing ground there in recent months, but the armed groups fighting it have been witnessing an increasingly high death toll.
An advanced air campaign could speed up the removal of IS militants from their biggest stronghold in the country. The Pentagon has carefully attributed its latest move to the unity government's request to help its forces.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/us/politics/us-conducts-airstrikes-against-isis-in-libya.html
Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, said that Libya’s government of national accord asked for help in its fight against the Islamic State, adding that “additional U.S. strikes will continue to target ISIL” in Surt, using another name for the Islamic State or ISIS.
President Obama approved the strikes last week, an administration official said. Military officials have been working on plans to enter the fray in Libya for months.
(for months? Have n't they got enough to do in Syria, Iraq, etc etc?)
The Pentagon said Monday's strikes, authorised by President Barack Obama, were in support of government forces currently fighting IS militants.
"These actions and those we have taken previously will help deny ISIL a safe haven in Libya from which it could attack the United States and our allies," the Pentagon statement continued, using another term for IS.
It now appears the US has formally started a sustained air campaign to degrade the IS group's capabilities in Sirte. The jihadists have been losing ground there in recent months, but the armed groups fighting it have been witnessing an increasingly high death toll.
An advanced air campaign could speed up the removal of IS militants from their biggest stronghold in the country. The Pentagon has carefully attributed its latest move to the unity government's request to help its forces.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/us/politics/us-conducts-airstrikes-against-isis-in-libya.html
Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, said that Libya’s government of national accord asked for help in its fight against the Islamic State, adding that “additional U.S. strikes will continue to target ISIL” in Surt, using another name for the Islamic State or ISIS.
President Obama approved the strikes last week, an administration official said. Military officials have been working on plans to enter the fray in Libya for months.
(for months? Have n't they got enough to do in Syria, Iraq, etc etc?)
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