The Pentagon says more than 80 fighters of the Islamic State (IS) militant group were killed in U.S. Air Force strikes on two terrorist camps in Libya.
Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said on January 19 that many of the fighters were actively planning terror attacks.
"They certainly are people who were actively plotting operations in Europe and may also have been connected to some attacks that have already occurred in Europe," Carter said, adding that the figures were based on initial reports.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said on January 19 that the overnight strikes targeted IS militants who had been driven out of their former stronghold of Sirte in 2016 by U.S.-backed Libyan forces.
Cook said the militants set up the remote desert camps about 45 kilometers southwest of Sirte to reorganize there, and that they "posed a security threat to Libya, the region, and U.S. national interests."