Also, the USA government estimates there are about 1,000 ISIS fighters in Sirte, but five or six thousand in Libya altogether, which would suggest they are not as boxed up in Sirte as Libyan and US governments hoped.
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The strikes, which have been in anticipation for weeks, were conducted at the request of officials from Libya’s shaky United Nations -backed government, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.
“The first airstrikes were carried out on precise positions of the IS in Sirte, causing heavy losses”, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said.
The U.S. launched multiple airstrikes against Islamic State militants Monday, Aug. 1, 2016, opening a new, more persistent front against the group at the request of the UN-backed Libyan government, Libyan and U.S. officials said.
“The Presidency Council decided in its capacity as the supreme command of the Libyan armed forces, to demand direct US support to conduct targeted airstrikes against the strongholds of the Daesh organisation”.
Libya’s Western-backed unity government had requested air support as forces under its command battle to reclaim the coastal city which lies halfway between Benghazi and Tripoli. He said any other foreign intervention is not allowed without coordination. According to Military Times, Peter Cook said in a statement,”With regard to this particular operation in Sirte, we do not expect U.S”.
Efforts to retake Sirte have bogged down in recent weeks, and the USA will provide additional airstrikes to oust ISIS from the city, the statement said.
“These strikes were authorized by the president following a recommendation from [Defense] Secretary [Ashton] Carter and [Joint Chiefs of Staff] Chairman [John] Dunford”. Even if USA and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation bombing strikes manage to force ISIS out of Sirte, the likelihood of the Libyans holding that ground afterward seems …
He said no American troops were on the ground aiding in these targeted strikes, but said they have been “in and out” of Libya, declining further detail. The Two-Way reported that the February strike is said to have killed at least 40 people at what the Pentagon called an ISIS training camp in northeast Libya.
Libya slid into chaos after the ouster and killing of dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
Those forces have complained that assistance from the government in Tripoli and external powers was slow to materialize. Also see this ISIS regional control map, including Libya, from the Institute for the Study of War back in May.
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Small teams of Western countries’ special forces have been on the ground in eastern and western Libya for months.
