As the U.S.-led coalition continues to work with local ground troops to fight ISIL in Iraq and Syria, officials want to make sure ISIL does not gain safe havens anywhere, the press secretary said.
Strike Shows Counter-ISIL Commitment
“This action is a clear demonstration of the secretary’s continued commitment to go after ISIL’s metastases wherever they emerge,” Cook said, adding that the strike was fully consistent with the broader U.S. campaign plan to counter ISIL and prevent new safe havens.
The United States will continue working with its coalition partners in the overall counter-ISIL campaign, he said, and he thanked coalition nations. “We appreciate their support and the continued contributions from all of our coalition partners to destroy ISIL,” he said.
“We believe there are other [ISIL] training camps in Libya similar to this [one], and we’ll continue to monitor them carefully,” Cook said. “When we see opportunities or the need to take this kind of action, we will be prepared to do so, because we want to prevent ISIL from getting a foothold in Libya, or a foothold anywhere else.”
(Source: US Dept of Defense)