Forces aligned with the Libyan Government of National Accord have reduced the territory controlled by ISIS in the city of Sirte by about one-third with the support of US airstrikes, Pentagon spokesman Gordon Trowbridge said Friday. Some of the buildings taken had served as key ISIS operating centers, he said. The military’s new offensive against ISIS fighters in Libya has totaled 41 airstrikes in 10 days, with the latest wave hitting ISIS vehicles and fighting positions in the city of Sirte, US Africa Command announced on Friday. The operation, Odyssey Lightning, kicked off Aug. 1 after the government of national accord requested US assistance in targeting ISIS. Pentagon Spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said Friday manned and unmanned systems have carried out the strikes, with the manned strikes conducted by Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers from the USS Wasp. He would not confirm reports that the remotely piloted aircraft were coming from US units in Jordan. Trowbridge said the US actions in Libya were in keeping with the policy that “the way to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat, one that sticks, is by supporting capable and motivated local forces that can not only defeat ISIL today, but keep it from rearing its ugly head tomorrow.”
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
