Libyan army resumes its war in Benghazi

Libyan national Army resumed its fight against the extremist groups in Benghazi on Friday, as it managed to control large swath of the city, dominated by the extremists since 2014, during the recent days.

The extremists still control Qanfoda district and the areas of Sabry and Soq Al Hoot, while the Libyan army announced Thursday that it managed to control Bosanib after two days of battles.

Initial US estimates were that approximately 80 people were killed, who the Pentagon described as Isis fighters.

The outgoing US defense secretary, Ashton Carter, said that some of those killed posed an urgent threat to America’s European allies.

“They certainly are people who were actively plotting operations in Europe and may also have been connected to attacks that have already occurred in Europe,” Carter told reporters.

“We need to strike ISIS everywhere they show up. And that’s particularly true in view of the fact that we know some of the Isil operatives in Libya were involved with plotting attacks,” he said, using an alternative acronym for the group also known as Daesh and ISIS.

The Pentagon press secretary, Peter Cook, said some of the fighters “fled to the remote desert camps from Sirte in order to reorganize”. Cook said the military was evaluating the results of the strikes but said an initial assessment “indicates they were successful”. He did not say how many Isis fighters remain in Libya following the attack.

In the same context, Libya’ presidential council revealed that American-Libyan raids targeted a large number of sites controlled by ISIS outside Sirte in coordination with AFRICOM.

The Libyan council stressed the need for the international community support during its war against the common enemy, saying the international role is essential to eliminate the extremist groups.