British Forces News reports that there is increasing speculation in the British media over the role the SAS could play in the fight against Daesh in Libya.
A number of newspapers have reported that special forces troops are currently in the country ahead of a major coalition offensive against the group.
They're said to be preparing to spearhead an operation involving 1,000 British infantrymen, who'll be sent there early this year to help train and support Libyan forces.
The Daily Mirror quotes a 'senior military source' as saying:
“This coalition will provide a wide range of resources from surveillance, to strike operations against Islamic State who have made significant progress in Libya.
“We have an advance force on the ground who will make an assessment of the situation and identify where attacks should be made and highlight the threats to our forces”.
It's been reported that the offensive will involve about 6,000 coalition soldiers and marines, with SAS troops working alongside Libyan forces to advise them on ‘battle-space management’ - or how to control the battlefield using tanks, troops, ships and warplanes.
Their objective is thought to be stopping the group from gaining control of any more of Libya's oil production, with 5,000 extremists already said to have seized more than a dozen major-oilfields.
Should Daesh take over the country's refinery at Marsa al-Brega, the largest in north Africa, they would assume control of all of its oil production.
It's also been reported that more RAF planes could be sent to Cyprus ahead of carrying out airstrikes against Daesh positions in Libya, with airstrikes already taking place against the group in Iraq and Syria.
(Source: British Forces News)
