Air strike hits ‘Daesh convoy’ in Libya town

TRIPOLI: Aircraft attacked a convoy carrying suspected Islamic State militants near the northwestern Libyan town of Bani Walid early on Sunday, an official said.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack though both the United States and Libyan government forces have launched air strikes on militants in recent months.
Three huge explosions rocked the area around dawn, the member of Bani Walid’s municipal council said.
People living in Ras Al Tbel, about 80km south-east of Bani Walid, had seen the same convoy of up to 15 vehicles carrying the black flags of Daesh over the past two days, the official added.
It was not immediately clear if the convoy was hit. “A convoy was hit by an air strike” outside the coastal city of Sirte, a colonel with the air force loyal to the Tripoli administration said.
“It is believed that it was a Daesh convoy, but the target has not yet been identified,” he said.
“It was completely destroyed,” he said.
He had no immediate word on the death toll.
“This air strike was not coordinated with our government,” he added.
Militant groups have taken advantage of political chaos to expand their presence in Libya and fighters loyal to Daesh have taken control of the coastal city of Sirte, about 260km east of Bani Walid.
Western officials say they are discussing air strikes and special forces operations in Libya against the group that is seeking to set up a cross-border caliphate and has already seized large areas of Syria and neighbouring Iraq.