(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
The US Navy confirmed on Thursday that Super Cobra military helicopters have been deployed as a part of the US air raid campaign to take out ISIS in Sirte.
The helicopters are being launched from the USS San Antonio, a transport dock ship positioned just off Libya’s shores. The Super Cobra’s took off overnight for the first time since the beginning of the campaign in August.
“Precision airstrikes” were conducted using the armed helicopters in ongoing battles against ISIS fighters in Sirte, said a statement released by the US navy base in Naples, Italy.
In the early days of the campaign, the Pentagon said the campaign was likely to only last for a few “weeks not months”.
The US military has tasked the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit made up of 2,500 elite military personnel from the US Marine Corps and the US Navy.
The support of the US military came after the UN-backed Government of National Accord(GNA) made a request for support in its fight against ISIS. However, the GNA has insisted that it will not allow foreign soldiers to fight on Libyan soil.