By Libya Herald reporters.
Tunis, 24 September 2017:
An American airstrike south-east of Sirte is said to have killed 17 terrorists at a desert camp .
The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said the raid on Friday evening struck a camp that was used to move Islamic State fighters in and out of Libya. Given the attack was 240 kilometres south-east of Sirte, the American military may be suggesting that IS terrorists still have a functioning sea link.
AFRICOM said the targeted site was also used to stockpile weapons and other equipment as well as plot attacks. Besides the dead terrorists, the US said that the six precision airstrikes had destroyed three vehicles.
in material terms, the result of this strike is markedly less than the US Air Force (USAF) attack in January when some 90 terrorist suspects died and a large quantity of stores and weaponry was destroyed.
That raid was carried out by two B-2 stealth bombers from the USAF 509th Bomb Wing which flew a 33-hour round trip from Missouri. They dropped 85 precision-guided missiles on two camps just 45 kilometres outside of Sirte. Only last week the 509th Wing held a conference to review the operation.
It is unclear if today’s raid was another B-2 attack or, as some sources are reporting, drones were involved. Last January the US strike was followed up by Misratan ground forces who discovered the full extent of the destruction. Four terrorist suspects found at the site were shot dead after they apparently refused to surrender.
