Political chaos in Libya has allowed the Islamic State to expand across the northern coast of the oil-rich North African country, which is just across the Mediterranean from Italy and has also become a major conduit for African migrants heading to Europe.
Advertisement
Nourredine Chouchane – also known as “Sabir” – a Tunisian blamed for attacks on the Bardo Museum in Tunis and a beach resort near Sousse which left 60 people dead.
“We took this action against Sabir and the training camp after determining that both he and the ISIL fighters at these facilities were planning external attacks on USA and other western interests in the region”, Cook told reporters on Friday.
“At this point, we feel good that both were taken out in this strike”, he said, adding that while the number of deaths is yet to be determined, a significant number of ISIL fighters were there at the time. He said the raid showed U.S. willingness to fight Islamic State.
“I emphasized to the (Tunisian) President that the United States is fully committed to working with Tunisia so that it can continue to build on (its past) success”, Obama said in Washington alongside his Tunisian counterpart, Beji Caid Essebsi.
The mayor of Sabratha, Hussein al-Thwadi, said Libyan authorities had sent photos of the bodies to Serbian diplomats for an initial identification. Several wounded men lay bandaged in hospital.
“It wasn’t in the interests of the people who held them to kill them, because there were no other demands but financial”, Dacic said.
Warplanes struck a house 6 miles outside the city center, Sabratha’s municipal administration said.
The statement said. The house was rented to foreigners including Tunisians suspected of belonging to Islamic State and medium caliber weapons including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades had been found in the rubble, the statement said.
Britain said it had authorised the use of its airbases to launch the attack.
The US-led coalition has been bombing ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria for the past 18 months.
The strike highlights growing concerns about the Islamic State’s expansion into Libya, an unstable country with rival governments vying for power.
A UN-backed government of national accord is trying to win support, but is still awaiting parliamentary approval. It is opposed by factional hardliners.
Tunisian security sources believe Tunisian Daesh fighters have been trained in camps near Sabratha, which is close to the Tunisian border.
“It can’t all be about Iraq and Syria”, said Votel, who has been nominated to replace Army Gen. Lloyd Austin as head of U.S. Central Command.
Advertisement
U.S. and European officials have in the past insisted Libyans must first form a united government and ask for help, but they also say they may still carry out unilateral action if needed.
