Libya air strikes kill dozens of IS members in Sirte

Libya’s Air Force on Wednesday carried out air raids on Islamic State (IS) sites near the city of Sirte, killing dozens of militants and destroying all of their equipments, according to a military source.
“The air force carried out four raids targeting sites near the desert road leading to the town of Harawa, east of the city of Sirte, a site used by IS to store weapons and military vehicles,” an army officer said.
“Dozens of IS fighters stationed at the site were killed by the raids. Reconnaissance plane detected destruction of all the IS forces, with dozens of militants killed,” the officer added.
The airstrikes were carried out after receiving information that IS affiliates plan to attack the oil crescent oil region near Sirte, the officer revealed.
The IS affiliates were defeated and expelled from Sirte in December 2015 by forces allied with the UN-backed government and backed by U.S. Air Force.
The remaining militants fled to southern valleys and mountain areas, where they set up mobile security checkpoints from time to time on the road leading to southern cities and check civilian cars passing by, in search of soldiers or security personnel to kidnap.