Libya: U.S. airstrikes on ISIS training camp in Libya kill at least 41 people
American warplanes bombed an Islamic State training camp in Libya early Friday, killing at least 41 people, most likely including a militant commander linked to attacks on Western tourists, in a strike that highlighted the widening gap between American military and diplomatic efforts in the region.
The airstrikes in Sabratha, a seaside town 50 miles west of Tripoli, targeted Noureddine Chouchane, a Tunisian militant linked to two major attacks on Western tourists in Tunisia last year. He had also facilitated the arrival of Islamic State recruits in Libya, the Pentagon said in a statement confirming the strikes.
Mr. Chouchane was probably killed in the strike, the Pentagon said.
Since June the United States has carried out at least three air attacks against Islamist commanders in Libya, usually with a view to preventing the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, from using its expanding territory in the country as a springboard for attacks in the region, or on the West. The Sunni extremist group has been spreading into Libya from its bases in Syria and Iraq.