WASHINGTON, February 19 (Sputnik) — The United States has not made any decisions to begin fighting the Islamic State (ISIL) in Libya, but they reserve the right to engage terrorists in other areas if American interests are threatened, the US Defense Department Press Secretary John Kirby said.
“No decisions have been made to expand the fight against ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] beyond Iraq and Syria,” Kirby said on Wednesday during a press briefing. “We continue to have the right to engage terrorist networks wherever they are, if they threaten Americans or American interests.”
In early February, ISIL militants claimed responsibility for several attacks on Libyan territory. In recent weeks, the extremists reportedly took over a Libyan state-run television station in Sirte and two radio stations.
Last week, the radical group posted a footage depicting the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians that were abducted earlier in Sirte.
The Islamic State has been making advances in Libya despite efforts by the US-led international coalition to conduct airstrikes against IS since August.
