US stealth bombers kill more than 80 ISIS "fighters" in Libya

More than 80 Islamic State jihadists were killed in a US aerial blitz on training camps in Libya, including fighters involved in plotting attacks in Europe, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday.

The Pentagon made the highly unusual decision to conduct the air strikes with a pair of B-2 stealth bombers that flew to North Africa on a 34-hour mission from their base in Missouri in America's Midwest.

The last time the distinctive, bat-shaped planes were used in Libya was in 2011 during the mission that led to the ouster of longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi.

Wednesday's massive strike saw the B-2s and Reaper drones unleash about 100 bombs on the IS training camps -- equating to more than one bomb per jihadi that was killed.

The camps were located about 45 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the coastal city of Sirte, Kadhafi's former home town that IS for a time turned into a stronghold as it attempted to expand its presence in Libya.
 [i24news.tv/AFP]
19/1/17