US stealth bombers and drones have carried out airstrikes on suspected IS training camps in Libya and American commanders believe they were successful in destroying the camps.
A pair of American B-2 stealth bombers flying non-stop from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri carried out the strikes against the training camps of self-styled Islamic State terrorist group on Wednesday night, CBS reported.
The B-2s, each capable of carrying as many as 80 precision guided bombs, hit the camps in the desert where US intelligence officials believed IS was training scores of fighters to launch terror attacks against targets outside Libya.
They struck in the middle of the night in Libya, aiming to destroy the camps while the fighters were sleeping.
“The IS terrorists targeted included individuals who fled to the remote desert camps from Sirte in order to reorganize and they posed a security threat to Libya, the region and US national interests,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook.
“While we are still evaluating the results of the strikes, the initial assessment indicates they were successful.”
A US defense official said “several dozen” militants were believed to have been killed in the strikes and that no civilians were thought to have been present.
The official said militants were seen before the strikes carrying weapons, wearing tactical vests, carrying mortars and standing in formation at the sites.
Officials said the camps were about 28 miles southwest of the city of Sirte.
The strikes were authorized by US President Barzck Obama, according to US defense officials. The strikes were aimed primarily at IS militants who had escaped from Sirte after US strikes virtually obliterated the group in the coastal city last autumn.
