The US military has said that since President Trump assumed power, it has conducted eight airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Libya.
the airstrikes are significant because they are a kind of barometer of the highly volatile political and security environment in the country. They also serve as an indicator of the vast ungoverned spaces that still offer fertile safe havens where Islamic State and Qaeda fighters can regroup.
The United States has only a few dozen Special Operations forces on the ground in Libya, advising and assisting militias aligned with the country’s fragile Government of National Accord, which clings perilously to power in the capital, Tripoli.
ISIS-Libya remains a formidable regional terrorist threat, as well as Al Qaeda affiliates in Libya, are spreading their influence, particularly in the ungoverned southern region.
