Forty-three people were killed as U.S. warplanes launched air strikes
against a suspected ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq
and Syria) training camp in western Libya on Friday, probably including a militant leader connected
to two deadly attacks last year in neighboring Tunisia.
The senior leader in question is Noureddine Chouchane, who is a senior
operative in the terrorist group from Tunisia. He is believed to be among those
from Africa and the Middle East who was present at the site at the time of the
incident. It was the second U.S. air strike in three months against Islamic
State in Libya.
The air-raids took place on
Friday morning in the al-Qasser district in Sabratha, a coastal city in
northwestern Libya. Apart from killing people, the air strike has wounded six other
people and the number of casualties is likely to increase as a couple of bodies
are suspected to be still buried in the rubble.
Sabratha Mayor Hussain al-Thawadi described the site as an ISIS
recruitment base for foreigners, mostly from Tunisia. He said a Jordanian woman
is among the dead. According to a U.S. official, over the last several weeks,
the United States observed militants moving around the targeted site and
undergoing what appeared to be special training.
ISIS has emerged as the world's top terror threat, having conducted or
inspired about 70 attacks in 20 countries since declaring its caliphate in June
2014. Not including its armed campaigns in Syria and Iraq. These attacks
have killed at least 1,200 people and injured more than 1,700 others.
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