"US airstrikes have significantly reduced ISIL’s [Islamic State’s] ability to utilize heavy weapons and enemy fighting positions, as well as have reduced the number of vehicle-born improvised explosive devices intended for attacks on GNA-aligned forces," Baldanza said.
Operation Odyssey Lightning was launched on August 1 at the request of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA). It is intended to allow state forces to make a strategic advance against the Islamic State’s positions in Sirte, according to the US Department of Defense.
Last week, GNA intelligence chief Col. Ismail Shukri said the Islamci State has lost most of the territory it seized inside Sirte. Shukri claimed that only around 200 Daesh fighters remain in the city.
The Daesh strength throughout Libya has been assessed to be approximately 5,000, she noted.
The Daesh has been outlawed in the United States, Russia and numerous other countries around the world. The terror group has gained a foothold in Libya in the turmoil following the 2011 Western-supported overthrow of the country’s leader Muammar Gaddafi.
