The United States launched multiple airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Libya on Monday, opening a new front against the group at the request of the United Nations-backed government, Libyan and US officials said.
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Italy’s foreign minister says his government will evaluate any USA request to allow use of a Sicilian air base in the campaign of airstrikes against an Islamic State stronghold in Libya.
Obama says the new operation is authorized now as a “30-day mission”, though there is no reason to expect that this is meant to serve as a timetable for it. The last USA attack on Libya back in 2011, extended well beyond its initial schedule, and the White House openly rejected the need for Congressional authorization. The Pentagon estimates fewer than 1,000 fighters remain in the city.
It is the first time such military intervention has been coordinated with Libya’s Government of National Accord, or GNA.
But U.S. officials said airstrikes are different, marking the start of a sustained air campaign.
At a joint news conference with the leader of Singapore, Obama was asked by a reporter if the USA airstrikes on ISIL targets in Libya are a “direct result” of his decision to topple Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi.
The last acknowledged USA air strikes in Libya were on an Islamic State training camp in the western city of Sabratha in February.
“We must stop relying on an outdated and overly broad authorization that was passed almost 15 years ago”, she added. USA surveillance drones were used to assist the targeting.
On Monday, the United States launched its strikes against Islamic State group targets at the request of the Libyan government, which could be viewed as a sign of a more cohesive GNA.
Fighters from a range of anti-Isis brigades are dug in behind sand banks and concrete walls in the coastal city after suffering high casualties in months of street-by-street fighting.
Before the offensive, the US estimated that ISIS had thousands of fighters in Libya, a lot of them based in their Libyan stronghold.
USA officials were developing military options in Libya earlier this year.
On Monday, GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj visited pro-government forces in Misrata, 190 kilometers to the northwest of Sirte, a statement said.
On July 18 Dunford said he was he was encouraged by developments against the Islamic State in Libya, noting it has been severely weakened.
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The numbers were believed to have fallen in recent months as Isil came under pressure from the government-aligned forces and militias.
