US Launches Airstrikes Against ISIS In Libya

The US have begun bombing targets around the Libyan city of Sirte, which they say is an ISIS strongold. The Pentagon have said that the action followed a request by the UN-backed government there and that this was the first strike of a new campaign that currently has “no endpoint.” Monday’s strikes, which were authorised by President Barack Obama, were in support of government forces currently fighting IS militants. RT reports: “The presidency council, as the general army commander, has made a request for direct US support to carry out specific airstrikes,” Fayez Serraj, the head of the Libyan presidency council, said in a televised statement broadcast on Monday afternoon, and uploaded to YouTube. “The first strikes started today in positions in Sirte, causing major casualties.” Serraj added that there would not be a foreign-led operation on the ground. However, US officials told local media sources that the US was preparing to take a greater role in the war-torn country, and said that the Pentagon was preparing for a long-term campaign against Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS/ISIL). BREAKING: US Defense official: New airstrikes on ISIS in Sirte will last “as long as needed” to capture Sirte, “decapitate” ISIS [...]