AdvertisementThe United States is “watching very carefully” for Islamic State militants operating outside Sirte as the jihadist group faces defeat in its former North African stronghold, a senior U.S. Department of State official told Reuters. AdvertisementLibyan officials and commanders say that some Islamic State militants fled Sirte in the early stages of the campaign there. Though Sirte was the only Islamic State-controlled city in Libya, the group has a presence in other parts of the country. The battle in Sirte comes as Islamic State is also on the defensive against U.S.-backed campaigns in Syria and Iraq, including in the biggest city of its self-declared Caliphate, Mosul. In that area but also in Libya we are seeing the fighters being squeezed,” Richards said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Source: Libya Today December 01, 2016 15:15 UTC