The US inflicted air strikes on Monday against squads of Islamic State in the Libyan city of Sirte, said the Pentagon.
The campaign against the Islamists in Sirte is led since May, but the West refrained from active engagement, partialy because of the lessons learned from the chaos arisen after the overthrow and murder of Muammar Gaddafi.
This time, the UN supported government of the torn by civil conflict Libya has asked the United States to inflict air strikes in Sirte. Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj first reported the bombing against Libya’s “capital” of the Islamists claimed that there were “heavy losses in the ranks of the enemy” but there has been no independent confirmation of his words yet.
Strikes were approved by President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford. According to the defense ministry, the operation will allow the National Consensus Government to carry out a desicive strategic invasion.
In the spring it was believed that in the hometown of Gaddafi there are about 5,000 Islamist fighters, but now according to sources of NBC News they are between 2000 and several hundred.
