US bombs Daesh targets in Libya killing 17 militants

Six US air strikes on a Daesh desert camp in Libya killed 17 militants and destroyed three vehicles, the US military said on Sunday.

US Africa Command said in a statement that strikes on Friday targeted a camp 240 kilometres (150 miles) southeast of Sirte, a city that was once its stronghold in Libya. 

The camp was used to move fighters in and out of Libya, plot attacks and store weapons, the statement said.

“ISIS (Daesh) and Al Qaeda have taken advantage of ungoverned spaces in Libya to establish sanctuaries for plotting, inspiring and directing terror attacks,” the statement said.

Daesh took over Sirte in early 2015, turning it into its most important base outside the Middle East and attracting large numbers of foreign fighters to the city. The group imposed its hardline rule on residents and extended its control along about 250 kilometres (155 miles) of Libya’s Mediterranean coastline.

But it struggled to keep a footing elsewhere in Libya and by last December was forced out of Sirte after a six-month campaign led by brigades from the western city of Misrata and backed by US air strikes.

Daesh militants have shifted to desert valleys and inland hills southeast of Tripoli as they seek to exploit Libya’s political divisions after their defeat in Sirte.