US military sources told AFP news agency the operation hit an ISIL training camp early on Friday and was aimed at killing Noureddine Chouchane, a Tunisian accused of helping to organise two attacks on tourists last year.
Following the announcement, Peter Cook, Pentagon press secretary, issued the statement identifying Chouchane as "an ISIL senior facilitator in Libya associated with the training camp".
"Destruction of the camp and Chouchane's removal will eliminate an experienced facilitator and is expected to have an immediate impact on ISIL's ability to facilitate its activities in Libya, including recruiting new ISIL members, establishing bases in Libya, and potentially planning external attacks on US interests in the region," he said.
A local Libyan official also confirmed that a safe house was destroyed in the dawn raid in Sabratha about 70km west of Tripoli, located near the border with Tunisia.
"The raid killed 41 people who were all inside the house," Hussein al-Dawadi, an official in the city, told AFP.
He said most of those who were killed were Tunisians, who were "probably members" of ISIL.
Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri, reporting from Tunis, said the country's foreign ministry has confirmed the attack, but did not comment on the reported deaths of Tunisian nationals.
She also reported that Libyan authorities in Tunisia confirmed that Tunisians and Algerians were among the dead. At least six other Tunisians were reportedly injured.
On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama pledged not to let ISIL build a base in Libya...
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
19/2/16
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Selon un responsable américain, les États-Unis ont frappé des membres présumés de l'EI, vendredi, près de Tripoli, en Libye. Lors de ce raid aérien, plus de 40 jihadistes ont été tués...
ReplyDeletePlus de 40 personnes ont été tuées, vendredi 19 février, dans un raid mené par un avion américain contre des membres présumés de l'organisation État islamique (EI) réunis dans un bâtiment près de la capitale libyenne Tripoli, selon un responsable militaire américain.
C'est la deuxième fois en trois mois que Washington mène des frappes ciblées contre l'EI en Libye. Le 13 novembre dernier, un raid emmené par des F-15 avait tué l'Irakien Abou Nabil, présenté alors par les Américains comme "le plus haut responsable de l'EI en Libye".....france24.com