USA -backed Libyan militias say they have captured the Islamic State (IS) group’s headquarters in their main Libyan stronghold of Sirte.
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As of August 7th, the US Air Command confirmed that 20 air strikes had taken place against Daesh positions in Sirte as part of, “Operation Odyssey Lightning”, all undertaken at the request of the United Nations supported, Government of National Accord, (GNA) in Tripoli.
Pro-government forces said they had lost contact with one aircraft.
US drones and fighter jets have carried out a total of 29 strikes since then, targeting several IS emplacements on Monday and a gun-mounted pick-up truck on Tuesday, according to statements by US Africa Command.
“A small number of USA forces have gone in and out of Libya to exchange information with local forces, and they will continue to do so as we strengthen the fight against [the Islamic State group] and other terrorist organizations”.
ISIS fighter’s vehicles were also destroyed to prevent them escaping from Sirte.
On the ground in Sirte, Libyan forces led by brigades from the city of Misrata have suffered heavy casualties from IS mines and sniper fire. She did not disclose an estimate on the number of USA forces.
It was not immediately clear how many fighters on either side may have been killed in the clashes, but the operations centre said earlier that at least 20 jihadists had died in fighting for the university campus. The soldier in question was fine, USA military officials quickly said, and on Tuesday offered a more detailed explanation of what happened.
The ongoing U.S. Special Operations mission, which came into public view in late 2015 when pictures of the heavily armed Americans appeared on social media, is another example of the low-visibility operations that have played a major role in the Obama administration’s counterterrorism strategy.
United States special ops troops in Libya´s Sirte: report was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on August 10, 2016 and was last updated on August 10, 2016. The attack was repelled by Petroleum Facilities Guard forces, which are another militia operating in the country.
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Cook added that the U.S. strikes in Sirte “will continue”, without elaborating. Raghavan reported from Sirte, Libya.
