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WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military had conducted 48 airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Libya since it launched its anti-IS campaign there on Aug. 1, U.S. Africa Command said on Tuesday.
According to a press release, the U.S. campaign, named Operation Odyssey Lightning, destroyed one IS vehicle and four IS fighting positions during latest airstrikes on Monday, bringing the total number of U.S. airstrikes there to 48 since Aug. 1 when the United States started its anti-IS campaign there at the request of Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA).
While U.S. military conducted air strikes against IS targets in Libya in the past, it was the first time the GNA had officially requested U.S. air strikes.
Despite the expansion of IS' influence in Libya, the U.S. military had before Aug. 1 publicly admitted to only a couple of airstrikes against IS targets inside Libya, compared to its daily air raids against the group in Syria and Iraq, according to examinations of the Pentagon's previous statements.
