Obama to Take Fight to ’ISIS’ in Libya

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama asked key advisors to draw up options for ratcheting up the fight against "ISIS" terrorist organization, including opening a new front in Libya.

Eighteen months after a US-led coalition began airstrikes against "ISIS" in Iraq and Syria, multiple administration sources said Friday that the White House wants to speed up and broaden the effort.

In the context, efforts will deepen to retake Raqa in Syria, Mosul in Iraq and to check the militants' growth in Afghanistan, but there is an increasing focus on Libya, according to the sources.

Potential options are said to range from intensified air strikes to participation in a UN-backed ground force that would help take on Libya's estimated 3,000 "ISIS" fighters.

Spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Baldanza said the US War Department "stands ready to perform the full spectrum of military operations as required."

Meanwhile, militants recently took control of Gadhafi's home town of Sirte, a strategic port near oilfields that could provide a lucrative source of income.

Until now, the US involvement in Libya has been limited to isolated airstrikes and the deployment of US Special Forces, who are building ties with local armed groups and providing intelligence.

Republicans, with one eye on November's US presidential election, have pilloried Obama and one-time secretary of state Hillary Clinton for not doing more to prevent the rise of "ISIS."

Further steps, including ground operations, are likely to depend on Libyans' ability to form a Government of National Accord, which the United Nations is still trying to bring together.

Washington is also looking to European nations, facing a more acute threat from the collapse of a country a short distance across the Mediterranean, to play a leading role, including former Libyan colonial power Italy.

In parallel, some security experts say the deteriorating situation on the ground may leave the administration few options but to launch a ground campaign, even if the long-term path is unclear.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team