WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 80 Islamic State militants, some of whom were believed to be plotting attacks in Europe, died in U.S. air strikes on camps outside the group’s former North African stronghold of Sirte in Libya, the United States said on Thursday.

“These strikes were directed against some of ISIL’s external plotters,” U.S Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a Pentagon briefing, using an acronym for Islamic State, the Syria- and Iraq-based militant group.

“They certainly are people who ... were actively plotting operations in Europe, and may also have been connected with some attacks that have already occurred in Europe,” Carter said.

The U.S. attack on Wednesday night was led by two B-2 bombers, which took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to carry out a 30-hour round-trip bombing run. They dropped about 100 precision-guided munitions on the camps.

The attack took place 28 miles (45 km) southwest of Sirte, targeting fighters fleeing Libyan forces clearing them from Sirte with support from U.S. air strikes.

Libyan forces finished retaking the city in early December after a nearly seven-month battle in a major blow to Islamic State that left the group without any territory in Libya.

Still, Libyan officials say hundreds of militants may have escaped before the battle or in its early stages, and local Islamic State leaders have spoken of trying to regroup outside the city.

A statement from Libya’s U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli said the strikes were “preemptive steps to foil attempts” by Islamic State to stage new attacks on Sirte as well as other areas of the country.

The strikes appeared to be intended to shore up the GNA and protect recent gains in oil production from possible militant attacks, said Geoff Porter, head of North Africa Risk Consulting.

The GNA has received strong backing from the outgoing U.S. administration but has struggled to win support inside Libya or reverse the chaos that developed after rebels overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 with help from NATO.

Smoke rises following an air strike, Libya. November 22, 2016. REUTERS/Hani Amara

It’s unclear whether Donald Trump, who takes office as U.S. president on Friday, might seek to alter U.S. policy in Libya.

The United States carried out nearly 500 air strikes against Islamic State targets in Sirte between August and December. It had previously carried out several isolated strikes against militant targets elsewhere in Libya.

The jihadist group took over Sirte in early 2015, turning it into its most important base outside the Middle East and attracting large numbers of foreign fighters to the city. It imposed its ultra-hardline rule on residents and extended its control along about 155 miles (250 km) of Libya’s Mediterranean coastline.</s>U.S. officials confirm that two Air Force stealth B-2 bombers struck two ISIS camps in Libya 28 miles south of Sirte on Wednesday night. One official called the airstrikes "a huge success," with more than 80 ISIS fighters killed.

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The airstrikes targeted 80 to 100 ISIS fighters in multiple camps south of the coastal city of Sirte, which was once an ISIS stronghold, an official told ABC News. The B-2 bombers dropped more than 100 munitions on the two camps.

Many of the ISIS fighters in the camps fled Sirte during a successful siege of the city last fall, according to another official. Militants were seen carrying weapons and mortars, wearing tactical vests and standing in formation.

"In conjunction with the Libyan government of national accord, the U.S. military conducted precision airstrikes Wednesday night destroying two ISIL camps 45 kilometers southwest of Sirte," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement, using another acronym for the group.

He said the ISIS fighters had fled to the remote desert camps "in order to reorganize, and they posed a security threat to Libya, the region and U.S. national interests."

The airstrikes were authorized by President Obama and are considered an extension of Operation Odyssey Lightning, the U.S. campaign that carried out almost 500 airstrikes against ISIS in Libya last fall.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters at a Pentagon briefing that more than 80 ISIS fighters were killed in the airstrikes. In addition to those who fled Sirte he said there were also individuals at the camps the U.S. believed were actively involved in planning attacks in Europe or were involved in previous attacks.

"We need to strike ISIL everywhere they show up” said Carter.

One counterterrorism official told ABC News there were "zero survivors" at the camps.

The ISIS operation in Libya has been a major concern for U.S. officials, who have worried it could become another ISIS safe haven as the group faces growing military pressure in Iraq and Syria. U.S. officials have said the number of ISIS fighters in Libya likely totals 1,000.

"The United States remains prepared to further support Libyan efforts to counter terrorist threats and to defeat ISIL in Libya," said Cook. "We are committed to maintaining pressure on ISIL and preventing them from establishing safe haven."

The airstrikes were the first time B-2 stealth bombers have been used in combat since March 2011, when they were used in the first wave of strikes in Libya during the NATO-led military intervention there.

In early December, ISIS was defeated in Sirte by local Libyan militias that surrounded the city over the summer.

From last August through December, U.S. manned and unmanned military aircraft conducted 495 airstrikes against the 1,000 ISIS fighters believed to be in the city. The Libyan militias, supporting Libya's government of national accord, were accompanied by American military advisers who coordinated the targeting of those airstrikes.

During the siege, U.S. officials estimated that hundreds of ISIS fighters fled Sirte to establish themselves elsewhere in the country.

The B-2's flew a 30-hour round trip mission from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri where the Air Force's fleet of 20 B-2 "Spirits" are based.

As for why the B-2 bomber was used for the mission Carter said “it was a decision made by the commanders. It was the best capability to use.”

Cook explained to reporters that a benefit in using the B-2 for the airstrikes was its ability to loiter in the area after the strike.</s>U.S. B-2 stealth bombers struck two ISIS training camps in the Libyan desert Wednesday night, the Pentagon said.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said the camps housed ISIS fighters, many of whom had escaped the group's former stronghold in Sirte, on Libya's central coast. He added that officials are still working to assess the impact of the strikes, but they believe more than 80 ISIS fighters were killed.

"Importantly, these strikes were directed against some of ISIL's external plotters, who were actively planning operations against our allies in Europe," Carter told reporters Thursday. He added that the targets "may also have been connected with some attacks that have already occurred in Europe."

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the precision strikes 45 kilometers southwest of Sirte were part of a mission that lasted more than 30 hours. As NPR's Philip Ewing reports, the Pentagon picked stealth bombers that took off from Missouri "as opposed to American units already in Europe — because they had so many targets to hit, and wanted to strike them all at once."

The mission was requested by Libya's Government of National Accord, Cook added. The GNA is recognized by the United Nations and is one of several rival governments hoping to rule Libya.

Cook played surveillance video of individuals that he described as ISIS members moving rocket-propelled grenades and shells in the targeted area.

"This certainly dealt a significant blow to ISIL's presence in Libya," Cook said. "Was it a death knell for them in Libya? We'll have to wait and see."

Libya slid into chaos since the ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The disarray has allowed militant groups such as ISIS to gain a foothold in the country. The U.S. military started attacking ISIS targets in Sirte last August at the request of the U.N.-backed government, as The Two-Way reported.

The U.S. launched 495 precision airstrikes during the nearly five-month operation, dubbed Odyssey Lighting, according to the U.S. African Command. Cook referred to this mission as an extension of that operation.</s>B-2 bombers and US drones target two camps near city of Sirte, killing at least 80 ISIL fighters, Pentagon says.

More than 80 ISIL fighters have been killed in United States air raids on camps operated by the armed group inside Libya, according to US officials.

Pentagon said on Thursday B-2 bombers and US drones had targeted overnight two camps southwest of the city of Sirte, a former bastion of ISIL in the North African country.

Ash Carter, the US defence secretary, said on Thursday some of the ISIL fighters were believed to be actively planning attacks against targets in Europe, without offering any details.

"We need to strike ISIL everywhere they show up," Carter said on his last day office.

"And that's particularly true in view of the fact that we know some of the ISIL operatives in Libya were involved with plotting attacks."

Earlier on Thursday, Peter Cook, Pentagon's press secretary, said the attacks were authorised by outgoing US president Barack Obama and were in conjunction with Libya's United Nations-backed government of national accord.

Last month, forces aligned with Libya's internationally recognised government took full control of Sirte from ISIL, which stands for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Sirte fell after a sustained offensive starting in May 2016, including US air strikes targeting tanks and other vehicles used by ISIL, also known as ISIS.

ISIL had seized control of Sirte, the hometown of Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi, in 2015.

The group took advantage of conflict between various factions of former rebels who emerged as powerbrokers after Gaddafi was killed in 2011.</s>WASHINGTON - More than 80 Islamic State militants were killed in a US aerial blitz on training camps in Libya, including fighters involved in plotting attacks in Europe, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday.

The Pentagon made the highly unusual decision to conduct the air strikes with a pair of B-2 stealth bombers that flew to North Africa on a 34-hour mission from their base in Missouri in America's Midwest.

The last time the distinctive, bat-shaped planes were used in Libya was in 2011 during the mission that led to the ouster of longtime leader Moamer Gaddafi.

Wednesday's massive strike saw the B-2s and Reaper drones unleash about 100 bombs on the IS training camps - equating to more than one bomb per jihadi that was killed.

The camps were located about 45 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the coastal city of Sirte, Gaddafi's former home town that IS for a time turned into a stronghold as it attempted to expand its presence in Libya.

Speaking on his last day in office, Carter said the targets "certainly are people who were actively plotting operations in Europe, and may also have been connected with some attacks that have already occurred in Europe."

The air assault came a month after the United States had officially wrapped up its military operations in and around Sirte. The Pentagon launched that mission, Operation Odyssey Lightning, on August 1 and it comprised about 500 strikes.

When operations concluded last month, following Sirte's "liberation," the Pentagon left open the possibility of conducting additional anti-IS attacks if Libya's Government of National Accord asked for help in doing so.

Wednesday's strike was conducted in full coordination with the GNA, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said, noting the operation had been authorized by outgoing President Barack Obama.

He displayed brief footage taken ahead of the strike showing a group of men standing by two camouflaged pick-up trucks and unloading what appeared to be bombs or rockets.

Officials said no civilians were thought to have been killed and no women or children were present during the massive strike.

Cook would not discuss why the Air Force chose to use the B-2s, or whether it was a show of force as Obama leaves the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday.

"The use of the B-2 demonstrates the capability of the United States to deliver decisive precision force to the Air Force's Global Strike Command over a great distance," Cook said.

The United States has 20 B-2 bombers and the Air Force needed to fly 15 air tankers to ensure refueling over the course of the lengthy mission, Air Force spokesman Colonel Pat Ryder said.

The fall of Sirte, located 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Tripoli, was a major setback for IS, which has also faced military defeats across Syria and Iraq.

Libya descended into lawlessness after the NATO-backed ousting of longtime dictator Gaddafi in 2011, with rival administrations emerging and well-armed militias vying for control of its vast oil wealth.

"These strikes will degrade ISIL's ability to stage attacks against Libyan forces and civilians working to stabilize Sirte, and demonstrate our resolve in countering the threat posed by ISIL to Libya, the United States and our allies," Cook said, using an alternate IS acronym.

Trump's position on Libya is unclear and his public statements have reflected shifting views.

In 2011, he urged foreign military intervention to topple Gaddafi. "We should do on a humanitarian basis, immediately go into Libya, knock this guy out very quickly, very surgically, very effectively, and save the lives," he said.

Then in 2015, he said the world would be "100 percent" better off if Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Gaddafi in Libya were still in power, adding that human rights abuses are "worse than they ever were" in the two countries.</s>More than 80 Islamic State (Isis) militants were killed in overnight US precision air strikes conducted near Sirte, Libya, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Thursday (19 January) — the eve of his final day in office. The US forces also targeted several enemy locations in Iraq and Syria as part of their ongoing offensive against the jihadist group.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said that the operation in Libya was jointly carried out by the US-led coalition force and Libya's Government of National Accord. He added that the militants who were killed "posed a security risk to Libya, its neighbors, our allies in Africa and Europe, and to the United States and its interests".

Talking to reporters at Pentagon, the defence chief said their forces struck IS (Daesh) training camps, about 28 miles away from Sirte. Most of the IS militants killed in the strike had converged on the training camps after fleeing Libyan government forces that cleared Sirte in December 2016, he added.

Carter termed the air strikes conducted by the US-led coalition as vital to "deal ISIL the lasting defeat it deserves", using another name for the terrorist group — Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

He added: "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."

Giving further details on the air strikes, Cook said that the strikes primarily involved two US Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers. According to initial analysis, the strikes were successful in destroying IS camps, the Pentagon spokesman said, noting that "their destruction will degrade ISIL's ability to threaten the Libyan people or disrupt efforts to stabilise Sirte after its liberation".

"We have been watching [the training camps] for some time," Cook added, showing videos of the training camps.

On advances being made in Iraq against the IS, Cook confirmed that Iraqi government forces, with help from coalition troops, have "managed to secure all critical areas in eastern Mosul". He reiterated that IS' days in Mosul are numbered as the Iraqi and coalition forces prepare to reclaim western Mosul from the militants.

"Iraqi security forces now control the eastern ends of all five bridges linking east and west Mosul. And Prime Minister [Haider] al-Abadi and Iraqi military commanders have hailed this as a major accomplishment," he noted.

Cook also confirmed the death of a senior IS 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.

Both were Tunisian nationals, Cook said. Al-Tunisi was an al-Qaeda external operations leader who was killed in a US precision airstrike on 17 January near Idlib, Syria. Al-Muslimi was an al-Qaeda facilitator, who was killed in a 12 January precision airstrike near Saraqib, Syria.</s>WASHINGTON - U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers and drones attacked a pair of Islamic State military camps in Libya, seeking to eliminate extremists who had escaped the former IS stronghold of Sirte, the Pentagon announced on Thursday.

 

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement that the camps were located about 45 kilometers, or 28 miles, southwest of the central coastal city of Sirte.

 

The strikes were carried out overnight and were authorized by President Barack Obama, marking perhaps the final use of military force by a wartime president who intervened in Libya in 2011 as part of a coalition that ultimately toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

 

Cook said the attacks were made in conjunction with the Libyan government of national accord. He did not say how many militants may have been killed.

 

"The ISIL terrorists targeted included individuals who fled to the remote desert camps from Sirte in order to reorganize, and they posed a security threat to Libya, the region, and U.S. national interests," Cook said.

 

"While we are still evaluating the results of the strikes, the initial assessment indicates they were successful," Cook added. "This action was authorized by the president as an extension of the successful operation the U.S. military conducted last year to support Libyan forces in freeing Sirte from ISIL control. The United States remains prepared to further support Libyan efforts to counter terrorist threats and to defeat ISIL in Libya."

 

The Pentagon believes no civilians were killed in the strikes, a defense official said, while "several dozen" IS militants are thought to have been killed. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the attacks and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

Libya fell into chaos following Gadhafi's ouster and killing. The country remains divided between east and west, with no effective government and a multitude of rival factions and militias.</s>U.S. bombers hit Islamic State militants in Libya -U.S. defense officials

WASHINGTON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - U.S. B-2 bombers carried out air strikes against Islamic State camps outside of Sirte, Libya, on Wednesday night, killing dozens of militants, U.S. defense officials said on Thursday.

Two U.S. defense officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the strikes were carried out 28 miles (45 km) southwest of Sirte against two camps and done in cooperation with Libya's U.N.-backed Government of National Accord. They said there were no women or children in the camps.

One of the officials said initial reports showed dozens of militants were killed in the strikes with more than 100 precision guided munitions dropped.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook, in a statement on Thursday, confirmed the U.S. military conducted successful strikes.

"The ISIL terrorists targeted included individuals who fled to the remote desert camps from Sirte in order to reorganize, and they posed a security threat to Libya, the region, and U.S. national interests," Cook said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Libyan forces backed by U.S. air strikes finished clearing the last Islamic State holdout in Sirte last month after a battle of nearly seven months for the militant group's former North African stronghold. The United States carried out about 470 air strikes against Islamic State targets in Sirte during that campaign.

The loss of Sirte was a major blow for Islamic State, leaving the group without any territory in Libya, although it retains an active presence in parts of the vast country.

The jihadist group took over Sirte in early 2015, turning it into its most important base outside the Middle East and attracting large numbers of foreign fighters into the city. It imposed its ultra-hardline rule on residents, and extended its control along about 250 km (155 miles) of Libya's Mediterranean coastline.

Since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011 by rebel forces backed by NATO air strikes, Libya has slipped deeper into chaos. (Reporting by Idrees Ali)</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers attacked a pair of Islamic State military camps in Libya, killing more than 80 fighters in an unusual mission that may have marked the final demonstration of military force of President Barack Obama’s global counterterrorism campaign.

The militants targeted in the airstrikes included Islamic State members “actively planning operations against our allies in Europe,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday. He would not say more about the nature of the threat.

“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 said on his last full day as secretary of defense.

Among the questions facing the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump is how to counter IS in places like Libya, where extremists have vast swaths of ungoverned territory to hide, train and prepare attacks.

Carter defended the administration’s efforts to extinguish the Islamic State threat, while acknowledging that it has spread from Iraq and Syria to North Africa, Afghanistan, Europe and parts of Asia. He said extremists will remain a concern in Libya as long as that country is embroiled in a civil war.

IS, he said, “has little nests, sometimes of people who rebranded themselves, who were there already and received inspiration and sometimes support.”

The B-2 bombers flew more than 30 hours roundtrip from Missouri and dropped about 100 munitions of a type known as a Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, which is equipped with GPS guidance control to help it find its target with precision. Each B-2 is capable of carrying up to 80 JDAMs.

But it is unusual for the U.S. to send the bomber on a counterterrorism mission, particularly against such a modest number of targets like the camps in Libya. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said it was the first time the B-2s were used in combat since the 2011 air campaign that forced Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi from power and led to his killing.

Air Force MQ-9 drones known as Reapers also participated in the attack, dropping Hellfire air-to-surface missiles at the same sets of targets, officials said.

The Pentagon showed reporters a video clip from aerial surveillance of one of the camps prior to the attacks. The video was of higher resolution than the Pentagon normally makes public. A number of men could be seen carrying weaponry from the back of a partially camouflaged vehicle. Weapons at the camp included rocket-propelled grenades and unspecified shells, Cook said.

The camps were located about 45 kilometers, or 28 miles, southwest of the central coastal city of Sirte, Cook added. He and Carter said the mission was undertaken in cooperation with Libya’s government of national accord, which has been unable to assert control over the whole country.

Cook said some of the militants had fled to the desert camps from the former IS stronghold of Sirte to “reorganize.”

“They posed a security threat to Libya, the region, and U.S. national interests,” he told reporters.

The initial assessment is the strikes were successful, he said, adding that Washington was prepared to further support Libyan efforts to defeat IS.

The country remains divided between east and west, with no effective government and a multitude of rival factions and militias.

Cook also said that a Jan. 8 airstrike in Syria killed Abu Anas al-Iraqi, a senior IS member. He said al-Iraqi oversaw media and financial operations and was a member of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s inner circle.</s>U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers attacked a pair of Islamic State military camps in Libya, killing more than 80 fighters in an unusual mission that may have marked the final demonstration of military force of President Barack Obama’s global counterterrorism campaign.

The militants targeted in the airstrikes included Islamic State members “actively planning operations against our allies in Europe,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday. He would not say more about the nature of the threat.

“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 said on his last full day as secretary of defense.

Among the questions facing the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump is how to counter IS in places like Libya, where extremists have vast swaths of ungoverned territory to hide, train and prepare attacks.

Carter defended the administration’s efforts to extinguish the Islamic State threat, while acknowledging that it has spread from Iraq and Syria to North Africa, Afghanistan, Europe and parts of Asia. He said extremists will remain a concern in Libya as long as that country is embroiled in a civil war.

IS, he said, “has little nests, sometimes of people who rebranded themselves, who were there already and received inspiration and sometimes support.”

The B-2 bombers flew more than 30 hours roundtrip from Missouri and dropped about 100 munitions of a type known as a Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, which is equipped with GPS guidance control to help it find its target with precision. Each B-2 is capable of carrying up to 80 JDAMs.

But it is unusual for the U.S. to send the bomber on a counterterrorism mission, particularly against such a modest number of targets like the camps in Libya. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said it was the first time the B-2s were used in combat since the 2011 air campaign that forced Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi from power and led to his killing.

Air Force MQ-9 drones known as Reapers also participated in the attack, dropping Hellfire air-to-surface missiles at the same sets of targets, officials said.

The Pentagon showed reporters a video clip from aerial surveillance of one of the camps prior to the attacks. The video was of higher resolution than the Pentagon normally makes public. A number of men could be seen carrying weaponry from the back of a partially camouflaged vehicle. Weapons at the camp included rocket-propelled grenades and unspecified shells, Cook said.

The camps were located about 45 km, or 28 miles, southwest of the central coastal city of Sirte, Cook added. He and Carter said the mission was undertaken in cooperation with Libya’s government of national accord, which has been unable to assert control over the whole country.

Cook said some of the militants had fled to the desert camps from the former IS stronghold of Sirte to “reorganize.”

“They posed a security threat to Libya, the region, and U.S. national interests,” he told reporters.

The initial assessment is the strikes were successful, he said, adding that Washington was prepared to further support Libyan efforts to defeat IS.

The country remains divided between east and west, with no effective government and a multitude of rival factions and militias.

Cook also said that a Jan. 8 airstrike in Syria killed Abu Anas al-Iraqi, a senior IS member. He said al-Iraqi oversaw media and financial operations and was a member of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s inner circle.

The Pentagon made the highly unusual decision to conduct the air strikes with a pair of bat-shaped B-2 stealth bombers that flew to North Africa on a 34-hour mission from their base in Missouri.

Wednesday’s massive strike saw the B-2s and Reaper drones unleash about 100 bombs on the IS training camps — equating to more than one bomb per jihadi that was killed.

Speaking on his last day in office, Carter said the targets “certainly are people who were actively plotting operations in Europe, and may also have been connected with some attacks that have already occurred in Europe.”

The air assault came a month after the United States had officially wrapped up its military operations in and around Sirte.

The Pentagon launched that mission, Operation Odyssey Lightning, on Aug. 1 and it comprised about 500 strikes.

When operations concluded last month, following Sirte’s “liberation,” the Pentagon left open the possibility of conducting additional anti-IS attacks if Libya’s Government of National Accord asked for help in doing so.

Wednesday’s strike was conducted in full coordination with the GNA, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said, noting the operation had been authorized by outgoing President Barack Obama.

He displayed brief footage taken ahead of the strike showing a group of men standing by two camouflaged pickup trucks and unloading what appeared to be bombs or rockets.

Officials said no civilians were thought to have been killed and no women or children were present during the massive strike.

Cook would not discuss why the Air Force chose to use the B-2s, or whether it was a show of force as Obama leaves the White House ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Friday.

“The use of the B-2 demonstrates the capability of the United States to deliver decisive precision force to the Air Force’s Global Strike Command over a great distance,” Cook said.

The United States has 20 B-2 bombers and the Air Force needed to fly 15 air tankers to ensure refueling over the course of the lengthy mission, Air Force spokesman Col. Pat Ryder said.

The fall of Sirte, located 450 km (280 miles) east of Tripoli, was a major setback for IS, which has also faced military defeats across Syria and Iraq.

Libya descended into lawlessness after the NATO-backed ousting of longtime dictator Gadhafi in 2011, with rival administrations emerging and well-armed militias vying for control of its vast oil wealth.

“These strikes will degrade ISIL’s ability to stage attacks against Libyan forces and civilians working to stabilize Sirte, and demonstrate our resolve in countering the threat posed by ISIL to Libya, the United States and our allies,” Cook said, using an alternate IS acronym.

Trump’s position on Libya is unclear and his public statements have reflected shifting views.

In 2011, he urged foreign military intervention to topple Gadhafi.

“We should do on a humanitarian basis, immediately go into Libya, knock this guy out very quickly, very surgically, very effectively, and save the lives,” he said.

Then in 2015, he said the world would be “100 percent” better off if Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Gadhafi in Libya were still in power, adding that human rights abuses are “worse than they ever were” in the two countries.
U.S. B-2 stealth bombers strike two ISIL camps, south of the city of Sirte, Libya, killing more than 80 militants, according to United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.