According to AFP, US President Barack Obama is going to do everything he can to keep Daesh from establishing a toehold in Libya.
“We are working with our other coalition partners to make sure that, as we see opportunities to prevent Daesh from digging in in Libya, we take them,” AFP quoted the President as saying.
“We will continue to take actions where we got a clear operation and a clear target in mind.”
Daesh set up a base camp in former President Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, a strategic oil port city that could give the militant group the income it needs to sustain its operations in the country.
"The tragedy of Libya over the last several years is Libya has a relatively small population and a lot of oil wealth, and could be really successful,” said Obama.
Libya has had no real government set up since the ouster of Gaddafi in 2011, a situation that has seen foreign fighters and homegrown militias rally around the flag of Daesh.
The US has had very little involvement in Libya, sticking to isolated airstrikes and the use of Special Forces to train and provide intelligence to local armed groups.
AFP also stated that in November, an American F-16 fighter jet struck the eastern town of Derna, killing local Daesh leader Abu Nabil, also known as Wissam Najm Abd Zayd Al Zubaydi.
