American forces killed eight Islamic State fighters in Libya in an airstrike, their first in the country in nearly a year.
The strike was made in coordination with the internationally backed Libyan Government of National Accord outside Murzuq, an oasis town in the country’s southern desert.
“U.S. Africa Command conducted this airstrike to eliminate terrorist leaders and fighters and to disrupt terrorist activity,” commander Army Gen. Stephen Townsend said in a statement. “We will not allow them to use the current conflict in Libya as protection. Together with our Libyan partners, we will continue to deny terrorists safe haven in Libya.”
The strike occurred Thursday, the same day U.S. Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland met with Libyan National Army leader Khalifa Haftar, who launched an attack on the capital Tripoli on April 4. Haftar, a dual Libyan-American citizen with previous CIA ties, claimed he was liberating the city from “terrorists, Islamists, and militias,” but Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj accused him of attempting a coup. Haftar’s forces have failed to capture the city.
The U.S. Embassy in Libya released a statement following the meeting between Haftar and Norland, noting the two men discussed “the current situation in Libya and prospects for achieving a political solution to the Libya conflict.” The Government of National Accord and the Haftar-backed Libyan House of Representatives have been engaged in a civil war since 2014.
ISIS’ presence in Libya has further complicated matters in the country. A lack of governance gave rise to the group in 2014, allowing it to establish a base of operations in the coastal city of Sirte. The city was recaptured by Libyan forces in 2016, causing ISIS’ remnants to retreat to the desert. U.S. airstrikes on an ISIS base southwest of the city killed more than 80 fighters in January 2017. The last American airstrike in Libya was on Nov. 29, 2018. ISIS continues to maintain a presence in Libya’s remote desert regions despite being deeply unpopular in the country because of their brutality.
