This Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013 photo shows a general view of buildings destroyed by NATO bombing of the Bab Al-Aziziya compound and an occupied intact building in Tripoli, Libya. (AP/Manu Brabo)
WASHINGTON (REPORT) — U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers and drones attacked a pair of ISIS military camps in Libya, seeking to eliminate extremists who had escaped the former IS stronghold of Sirte, a defense official said Thursday.
The official said the camps were located about 45 kilometers, or 28 miles, southwest of the central coastal city of Sirte. The official was not authorized to speak in advance of an expected Pentagon announcement and confirmed the strikes on condition of anonymity.
The strikes were carried out overnight and were authorized by President Barack Obama, marking perhaps the final use of military force by a wartime president who intervened in Libya in 2011 as part of a coalition that ultimately toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The Pentagon believes no civilians were killed in the strikes, the official said, while “several dozen” IS militants are thought to have been killed.
The defense official said the latest strikes were aimed at hitting ISIS militants who left Sirte after U.S. strikes largely eliminated the group’s presence in that coastal city in December. At the time, Pentagon officials said they would further support counter-IS efforts if asked by Libya’s provisional government.
Libya fell into chaos following Gadhafi’s ouster and killing. The country remains divided between east and west, with no effective government and a multitude of rival factions and militias.
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