Libyan Warplanes Strike Islamist Militias in Benghazi
Photo Credit: REUTERS / ESAM OMRAN AL-FETORIBy Reuters.
Libyan warplanes bombed militia bases in Benghazi on Wednesday as part of a renegade former general’s campaign to purge the chaotic North African state of Islamist militants, witnesses and officials said.
Two jets attacked a base belonging to the February 17 brigade, one of the Islamist-leaning armed groups operating in Benghazi, and an Ansar al-Sharia militant base in the west of the city, a Reuters witness and an air force official said.
The attacks are part of a campaign by irregular forces loyal to former Libyan army general Khalifa Haftar who earlier this month launched operations against Islamist militants he says the weak central government has failed to control.
“Our forces are bombing the February 17 battalion base and Ansar al-Sharia base in Quarsha,” Mohamed Hejazi, a spokesman for Haftar, told Reuters.
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Photo Credit: APAmericans Urged to Leave Libya After Group Linked to Benghazi Attack Threatens U.S.
By Patrick Goodenough.
The State Department on Tuesday warned American citizens not to travel to Libya and urged those there to leave immediately.
The embassy in Tripoli has not been evacuated, although the administration began positioning military assets in Sicily last week to carry out a potential emergency extraction if deemed necessary. The amphibious assault ship USS Bataan moved into the Mediterranean Sea.
“This is a portion of a special purpose Marine Air-Guard task force crisis response that’s moved to a naval air station in Sicily,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a briefing. “This positioning was done in the event these resources are needed in the future.”
“We continue to review the situation and address embassy security needs,” Psaki said.
The travel warning said the staffing at the embassy has been limited, “due to security concerns,” and that the mission could offer only “very limited emergency services to U.S. citizens.”
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