US WARPLANES launched a major airstrike in Libya early on Friday morning killing, 40 people in one hit.
The terror raid was launched from the US base at Lakenheath, Suffolk, England.
A US official said that the planes hit an ‘Islamic State camp’ and that the 40 killed were terrorists.
The official said the strike targeted a senior Tunisian operative, Noureddine Chouchane, linked to terrorist attacks in Tunisia last year. The last time NATO forces officially bombed Libya was on October 31, 2011 when the NATO mandate for military action in Libya ended.
Yesterday’s airstrike opens up a new front for imperialism and is seen as a precursor for a new ground invasion. The US is launching airstrikes against IS in Syria and Libya, though it does not have a UN Security Council mandate to do so.
It comes just days after US President Barack Obama said he has been ‘clear from the outset that we will go after ISIS wherever it appears, the same way that we went after Al-Qaeda wherever they appeared.
‘We will continue to take actions where we’ve got a clear operation and a clear target in mind,’ he said, adding, ‘As we see opportunities to prevent ISIS from digging in, in Libya, we take them.’
• Russian President Putin and Saudi Arabia King Abdulaziz Al Saud, in a phone conversation, called for resolving the crisis in Syria, the Kremlin said on Friday. ”During the conversation, interest was shown in resolving the crisis in Syria, ensuring stability and security in the entire Middle East region and Northern Africa,’ the Kremlin said.
Putin confirmed the invitation for Saudi Arabia’s king to ‘visit Russia any convenient time’.
The leaders congratulated each other on the 90th anniversary marking the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Russian envoy to the United Nations Organisation Vitaly Churkin said earlier that if the Syrian authorities do not agree to a ceasefire, this can result in the fact that the armed conflict in the country will last ‘very, very long’.
‘If the Syrian authorities, follow Russia’s lead in resolving this crisis, they will have a chance to get out of the crisis with dignity,’ Churkin said. ‘If somehow they stray from this path, and again this is my personal assessment, a very difficult situation could emerge, including for themselves.
‘Whatever capabilities the Syrian army has, the effective operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces made it possible for it to hurl the enemy back from Damascus,’ he added. (see page 4 and 5)
