Pentagon said that more than 80 ISIL terrorists were killed in overnight US precision air strikes conducted near Sirte, Libya.
On eve of his final day in office, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said their forces struck ISIL training camps, about 28 miles away from Sirte.
Talking to reporters at Pentagon, the defense chief said most of the ISIL militants killed in the strike had converged on the training camps after fleeing Libyan government forces that cleared Sirte in December 2016.
Importantly, these strikes were directed against some of ISIL’s external plotters, who were actively planning operations against our allies in Europe. These were critically important strikes for our campaign and a clear example of our enduring commitment to destroy ISIL’s cancer — not only in Iraq and Syria, but everywhere it emerges,” Carter added.
Giving further details, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook confirmed the death of a senior ISIL leader, Abu Anas al-Iraqi, in an air raid in Syria’s Raqqa on 8 January.
“Al-Iraqi was a long-time associate of ISIL’s senior leadership, dating back to its origins of Al-Qaida in Iraq. He oversaw media and financial operations and was a member of ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s inner circle,” Cook said.
In a separate statement, Cook also confirmed the death of two senior al-Qaeda leaders in Syria – Mohammad Habib Boussadoun al-Tunisi and Abd al-Jalil al-Muslimi.
Source: Agencies
