Small Wars Journal

Esper Says U.S. Forces Combating ISIS in Libya ‘Continue to Mow the Lawn’

Thu, 11/14/2019 - 1:44pm

Esper Says U.S. Forces Combating ISIS in Libya ‘Continue to Mow the Lawn’ by Shawn Snow – Military Times

U.S. airstrikes targeting Islamic State fighters in Libya in September knocked out nearly one-third of the group’s fighters, but U.S. officials aren’t sweating over a massive ISIS resurgence in the country.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday while traveling to Seoul, Secretary of Defense Esper said there was nothing that “pops up as necessarily unusual” about ISIS’ presence in Libya or the spate of airstrikes that rained down on the jihadi group in September. But Esper said the issue “is a focus of our attention and operations."

Esper was responding to a question from a reporter regarding four airstrikes that struck ISIS fighters in southern Libya in September and whether the Pentagon was concerned about a resurgence of the Islamic extremist group…

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