The US Department of Defence (DoD) is reportedly considering plans to start a new military intelligence operation in Libya against the ISIS terrorist organisation.
US DoD spokesman Peter Cook was quoted by The Guardian as saying: "We are extremely worried about the metastasis of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in a number of locations, Libya being just one of those locations."
The US and allied nations recently decided to strengthen the military campaign against ISIS.
The forthcoming move is expected to include air strikes against ISIS, as well as special forces operations.
Last month, photographs of US Special Forces troops operating in Libya were published on the Libyan military’s Facebook page.
Cook added: "They’re trying to get a clearer picture of what’s happening there, and they’ve made contact with people on the ground to try and get a better sense not only of the threat that [ISIS] poses there but the dynamic on the ground in terms of the security situation."
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By GlobalData"We’re looking for partners, who can give us a better sense of the security situation, and it’s not just the US that has a keen interest here, it is our foreign partners as well."
Libya has been a potential target for ISIS due to its oil fields and the federal government’s new stratagy to cut ISIS supply chains and financial sources.
The US recently conducted an airstrike in Libya that allegedly killed Abu Nabil, a senior ISIS leader in the region.
The country had revealed plans to strengthen military capabilities and strongholds in North African countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara, in a bid to stop ISIS from growing in the region.