The Pentagon announced last week it had started an air campaign in Sirte following a request for help from the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA).
Advertisement
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
You are reading news and information on LongIsland.com, Long Island’s Most Popular Website, Since 1996. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
“Sirte is 70 percent free, it will soon be completely free”, Khalifa said.
“We are in the middle of the decisive phase in the battle against Daesh”, said Reda Eissa, a media official, using an Arabic acronym to refer to the Islamic State.
At least 16 fighters from the government-backed forces were killed and 11 wounded, Issa said.
“We do not need foreign troops on Libyan soil”, Sarraj said. She did not disclose an estimate on the number of US forces.
Sirte’s central residential areas are still under Islamic State control.
“The speed of the Libyan forces’ advancement from now one will be accelerating”, he said.
Levin told Anadolu Agency that the information being shared with Libya’s United Nations -recognized Government of National Accord forces includes “key information about the fight in Sirte, and strikes against DAESH targets inside Sirte”.
The airstrikes will allow the GNA to make a strategic advance against the terror group’s positions in Sirte, according to the US Defense Department.
US drones and fighter jets have carried out 29 strikes since then, targeting several Isis positions on Monday and a gun-mounted pickup truck on Tuesday, according to statements by US Africa Command.
Sirte has been a stronghold of the jihadist group since June past year.
The limited nature and size of USA operations around Sirte reflect the delicate balancing act the Obama administration must strike as it seeks to help allied local forces succeed while not undermining the country’s fragile unity government.
They had also advanced to a cluster of unfinished buildings used by Islamic State snipers just west of the centre of Sirte, he added. The raids targeted ISIS positions, destroyed two armoured vehicles and stopped an explosives-laden auto before it could reach loyalist forces, it said.
The militias began their offensive to retake the coastal area in and around Sirte in May.
Libya descended into chaos following Gadhafi’s ouster in 2011.
Advertisement
In an effort to resolve the ensuing political standoff, Libya’s rival governments signed a UN-sponsored agreement late previous year establishing a unity government based in Tripoli.
