U.S. strikes ISIS camp in Libya, many killing

Baku. 19 February. REPORT.AZ/ American warplanes struck an Islamic State camp in Libya early Friday, targeting a senior Tunisian operative linked to two major terrorist attacks in Tunisia last year, Report informs referring to The New York Times.

The airstrikes, on a camp outside Sabratha, about 50 miles west of Tripoli, killed at least 30 Islamic State recruits at the site, many of whom were believed to be from Tunisia, according to a Western official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. Intelligence officials were trying to determine whether the operative, Noureddine Chouchane, had been killed in the strike, the official said.

The mayor of Sabratha put the death toll at 41, and he said that six others had been wounded. He said the airstrikes occurred around 3:30 a.m.

The airstrikes come as the Obama administration and its allies are considering increased military action against a growing threat in Libya by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. In November, the Americans killed Abu Nabil, also known as Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi, an Iraqi who led the Islamic State’s arm in Libya, in an airstrike on the town of Darnah, in eastern Libya.

The Western official said that the airstrikes early Friday were focused on Mr. Chouchane and did not represent the start of major new American war in a Muslim country. They were carried out by Air Force F-15E jets.