On March 24, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced in an official statement that US had warplanes killed two terrorists in an airstrike on the town of Ubari, the provincial capital of the Wadi al Hayaa district in the southern part of Libya.
Just In: Unidentified aircraft carried out on Saturday an air strike on a house in the oasis town of Ubari, southwestern #Libya. Two militants inside the house were killed, local sources reported. pic.twitter.com/lIcCmmYSNz
— The Libya Observer (@Lyobserver) March 24, 2018
According to AFRICOM, “no civilians were killed in this strike”. The airstrike was allegedly conducted in full coordination with the Libyan Government of National Accord (LGNA).
Mohamed El Sallak, spokesman for the LGNA, said on Twitter that the airstrike had been a part of the “strategic cooperation between Libya and the US in the fight against terrorism.”
تأتي هذه العملية في إطار التعاون الاستراتيجي بين ليبيا والولايات المتحدة في مكافحة الإرهاب.
— Mohamed El Sallak (@mohamedsallak85) March 24, 2018
Meanwhile, Libyan sources said that the airstrike had targeted commanders of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb who had been holding a meeting in a house in the al-Sharib neighborhood of Ubari.
A local source told the UAE-based al-Arabiya TV that elements of al-Qaeda had cut off the heads of the two commanders who had been killed in the US airstrike in order to prevent the US intelligence from identifying them.
Over the last few years, the southern part of Libya has become a safe haven for several terrorist groups and gangs including al-Qaeda and ISIS. Observers believe that the absence of a well-supported united Libyan Army has led to this dangerous situation.
