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U.S. airstrikes target suspected Islamic State base in Libya U.S. airstrikes target suspected Islamic State base in Libya
(about 3 hours later)
CAIRO — U.S. airstrikes Friday hit a suspected Islamic State training camp in Libya, leaving at least 40 dead — possibly including a senior leader — in an attack that followed Western calls for stepped-up pressures against militant strongholds in North Africa. CAIRO — U.S. fighter jets struck a suspected Islamic State camp in Libya on Friday, killing at least 40 people in an attack that illustrates growing Western resolve to act against the militant group’s most powerful affiliate.
The Pentagon press secretary, Peter Cook, said a key target was a senior Tunisian militant linked to deadly commando-style attacks last year in his homeland. U.S. officials said that American F-15 fighter jets hit several buildings at the camp, on the outskirts of Sabratha, a restive city in western Libya, in an attempt to target an Islamic State leader linked to attacks on tourist sites in neighboring Tunisia.
Earlier, a U.S. defense official said the militant, Noureddine Chouchane, was “likely killed” in Friday’s airstrikes. But Cook said full details were being assessed. Authorities in Libya and Tunisia said at least 40 people were killed, but had no immediate reports on Chouchane. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the death of Noureddine Chouchane, who officials described as a senior Islamic State facilitator, would have an “immediate impact” on the group’s ability to plot attacks against American interests.
It was the first major U.S. air raid in Libya since November and followed increased alarms by Western leaders about a widening Islamic State presence there, which could open new oil-linked funding sources and give militants footholds along migrant routes to southern Europe. Defense officials said that Chouchane, a Tunisian national, was likely killed in the air raid, but cautioned it was too soon to say for certain. Authorities in Libya and Tunisia said the attack killed at least 40 people, but they had no immediate reports on Chouchane.
President Obama this week urged greater efforts to keep the Islamic State from “digging in” across Libya, where ongoing political infighting has divided the country into rival administrations and complicated Western-led efforts to battle militant factions. The early morning raid marked only the third time since West’s 2011 military intervention that Washington has launched an air strike against a militant in Libya. The operation comes as Western governments accelerate planning for possible military action against the Islamic State’s Libya affiliate, seen as the most potent after the group’s parent organization in Iraq and Syria.
The United States and allies, meanwhile, have relied on aerial surveillance and small reconnaissance teams to identify suspected Islamic State sites and movements. This week, President Obama urged greater efforts to keep the Islamic State from “digging in” across Libya, where political feuds have divided the country into rival administrations and complicated Western-led efforts to battle Islamist factions.
The growing Islamic State presence in Libya is viewed with particular urgency by leaders in Europe, already struggling to cope with new security threats and the large number of migrants arriving on its shores. Libya has become a major way station for migrants heading for Europe.
[Kerry warns of tightening Islamic State grip in Libya][Kerry warns of tightening Islamic State grip in Libya]
The airstrikes destroyed a large farmhouse outside Sabratha, a city in western Libya near the Tunisia border, where suspected militant fighters had gathered to hear a religious leader, said Jamal Naji Zubia, the head of the foreign news media office in Tripoli, in a telephone interview. Jamal Naji Zubia, the head of the foreign news media office in Tripoli, said the raid destroyed a large farmhouse where suspected militant fighters had gathered to hear a religious leader.
A key target in the attack was Chouchane, also known as Sabir, an Islamic State operative who was believed to be a key plotter in at least one of two Tunisian attacks against popular tourist sites. Zubia — who described the Friday airstrikes as an “accurate hit” — said most of the victims were Tunisian, but included at least one was Jordanian. Zubia’s office represents one of Libya’s two rival governments.
Cook, the Pentagon spokesman, described Chouchane as an “experienced facilitator” involved in recruitment, planning and attempts by the Islamic State to establish more bases in Libya. “They are believed to be from Daesh,” Zubia in a telephone interview, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. “They had gathered at the house to hear a speech from one of their Tunisian imams.”
Across the country in eastern Libya, airstrikes in June 2015 targeted another most-wanted militant who had past ties to al-Qaeda, Mokhtar Belmokhtar. But U.S. officials still have not confirmed whether Belmokhtar, an Algerian, was killed in the attack. Hours after the attack, Sabratha’s municipal council posted images of what it said showed the aftermath: piles of concrete rubble and large craters ringed by palm trees. A statement accompanying the photos said rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other weapons had been found under the debris, but there were no such images immediately posted.
[The U.S. still doesn’t know if it’s killed this legendary one-eyed militant] Other images showed unidentified men apparently injured in the attack receiving medical treatment.
Zubia — who described the Friday airstrikes as an “accurate hit” — said most of the victims were Tunisian, but at least one was Jordanian. [The Islamic State’s black banner rises along the Mediterranean]
“They are believed to be from Daesh,” said Zubia, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. “They had gathered at the house to hear a speech from one of their Tunisian imams.”
Sabratha Mayor Hussein Dawadi told Libya TV that the site was occupied by suspected Islamic State fighters, including some who had only recently arrived.
The news website Libya Herald, citing hospital officials, said at least 41 bodies were found. The report added that the injured were all Arabs from a variety of countries, but none were Libyan.The news website Libya Herald, citing hospital officials, said at least 41 bodies were found. The report added that the injured were all Arabs from a variety of countries, but none were Libyan.
In Tunisia, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Noufal el-Obaidi placed the death toll at 40 — a mix of Tunisians and Algerians — and said six Tunisians were injured, the state-run TAP news agency reported. None of the reports carried any immediate word on Chouchane. In Tunisia, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Noufal el-Obaidi placed the death toll at 40 — a mix of Tunisians and Algerians — and said six Tunisians were injured, the state-run TAP news agency reported. None of the immediate reports from Libya or Tunisia carried any immediate word on the fate of Chouchane.
Last year’s attacks appeared aimed at crippling the vital tourism industry in Tunisia, a popular spot for Europeans and others. In March, gunmen killed 22 people at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis. In June, attackers stormed a beach in the resort of Sousse, killing 38 people. If he was killed, it would represent a blow to the group’s ability to launch high-profile attacks in North Africa. American officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments, said Chouchane was believed to have overseen the travel and training of militants involved in two attacks in Tunisia last year.
In the first, gunmen killed 22 people at the National Bardo Museum, a popular destination for foreign travelers in the capital Tunis. Several months later, a lone militant stormed a beach resort of the coastal city of Sousse, killing 38 people, many of them British nationals.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for both attacks, which targeted Tunisia’s tourism industry, a vital part of the country’s economy. Tunisia is a popular destination for European sun-seekers.
”We believe he trained the people who then went and carry our the attacks,” a senior defense official said of Chouchane.
[Western security plan for Libya takes shape][Western security plan for Libya takes shape]
The Islamic State has taken advantage of political chaos in Libya — which is divided between two rival governments — to increase its footholds along the Mediterranean. Militants have been able to plot such attacks amid the chaos that has gripped Libya in the years following the 2011 uprising against former dictator Moammar Gaddafi.
In recent months, the group has strengthened its presence in Sabratha, a port city whose proximity to the Tunisian border made it a way station for smugglers and militants moving between the two countries. While a wide array of militant groups have thrived in Libya in recent years, the Islamic State’s Libya affiliate only began significant operations in 2015. But since then it has taken over the coast city of Sirte and sought to expand its influence elsewhere.
The Libyan militant group Ansar al-Sharia had previously established a base in Sabratha, where the United Nations declared ancient Roman ruins a world heritage site in 1982. In recent months, as travel in and out of Syria has become more difficult, Libya has become an increasingly destination for fighters associated with the Islamic State. Sabratha may have been an attractive site due to its proximity to the Tunisian border and reputation as a stronghold for smugglers and militants moving between the two countries.
In other Libyan cities, fighters for Ansar al-Sharia have been mostly absorbed into the ranks of the Islamic State. Tunisian jihadists make up one of the largest contingents of foreign fighters among Syrian rebel groups and Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, according to researchers. Islamic State fighters are now estimated to number between 2,000 and 5,000 in several different cells across Libya. Some of those are believed to be Libyans absorbed from other militant groups, while others are foreigners, including a large number of Tunisians.
The Islamic State, also known as ISIL and ISIS, had previously secured a foothold in Sirte — the home town of former Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafi — in the country’s east. But its fighters have also been known to operate in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is believed to have dispatched several senior deputies to Libya to oversee the growing operation there.
So far, U.S.-led military pressure against the Islamic State has concentrated on Iraq and Syria. But the United States and allies have been studying possible increased military action against the militant group in Libya. While the United States continues its military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, officials have begun to focus on the group’s Libya presence in recent months.
Already, the United States has launched an attack against one Islamic State militant there. Last November, the Pentagon claimed it killed an Iraqi militant considered the Islamic State leader in Libya, known as Abu Nabil al-Anbari. A U.S. statement at the time said he may have been the man whose voice appeared in a February 2015 video showing the beheadings of 21 Christian workers in Libya, nearly all Copts from Egypt.
The United States has acted against other militants in Libya in the past. In June 2015, U.S. aircraft targeted Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a veteran militant with links to al-Qaeda. But the U.S. government still have not confirmed whether Belmokhtar, an Algerian, was actually killed in the attack.
Officials said the British government supported Friday’s attack by allowing the American jets to take off from bases in Britain. British Defense Minister Michael Fallon said the attack “makes us all safer.”
The Obama administration has been considering doing more, either unilaterally or in coordination with European allies.
[The Tunisian beach that became a killing field][The Tunisian beach that became a killing field]
On Wednesday, Obama said the United States and allies were focused on strategies to “make sure that as we see opportunities to prevent ISIS from digging in, in Libya, we take them.” For months, European and U.S. leaders have been holding talks about plans for stabilizing Libya once a unity government is approved. For over a year, the United Nations has been advancing peace talks that would end Libya’s political schism.
“With respect to Libya,” he told reporters at the end of a summit with Southeast Asian leaders in California, “I have been clear from the outset that we will go after ISIS wherever it appears, the same way that we went after al-Qaeda wherever they appeared.” missy.ryan@washpost.com
Earlier this month, Secretary of State of John F. Kerry said Islamic State fighters could be retrenching in oil-rich Libya as the U.S.-led military campaign cuts off supply routes and bases in Syria and Iraq. Murphy and Ryan reported from Washington. Erin Cunningham in Cairo and Dan Lamothe in Washington contributed to this report.
“As everybody here knows, that country has resources,” Kerry said at a conference of 23 foreign ministers in Rome. “The last thing in the world you’d want is a false caliphate with access to billions of dollars in oil revenue.”
Both Kerry and Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said the radical Islamist group is expanding its presence in Libya, as fighters pushed out of Iraq and Syria relocate there and are joined by others new to the battle.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers expressed concern over the “growing influence” of the Islamic State in Libya.
In November, the Pentagon claimed it killed an Iraqi militant considered the Islamic State leader in Libya, known as Abu Nabil al-Anbari. A U.S. statement at the time said he may have been the man whose voice appeared in a February 2015 video showing the beheadings of 21 Christian workers in Libya, nearly all Copts from Egypt.
Murphy reported from Washington. Erin Cunningham in Cairo and Missy Ryan and Dan Lamothe in Washington contributed to this report.
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